Spiraling Shark
by The Fifth Rider of Armageddon
Summary: Humanity has mocked, enslaved, and looked down on us. That is what Naruto thought, from childhood he was destined to do great things. But will it be his destiny to destroy what Otohime worked for, or will it take a special princess to change his mind?
1. Discovering the Sea King

I don't own Naruto or One Piece. You know if I did I would do something like this fic you WILL enjoy.

"Talk" Talking

'_Think_' Thinking

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><p>The Fishman District started out as a gigantic institution to take care of orphaned children. But barely a year after its creation it descended into chaos and anarchy. The people in charge were unable to keep their charges under control, and so became a lawless region, homes to rebels and outcasts of Fishman Island. Gang violence was an everyday occurrence, and normally most fishman within the district didn't live long lives. That was until one of the mightiest fishman to ever exist took over the entire district, and ruled over it until he left to be an adventurer.<p>

That man was none other than Fisher Tiger, the first Captain of The Sun Pirates, the only person of any species to stand up to the Mariejois, and possibly one of the four most famous fishmen to ever come out of the district. The second being Jinbe a royal knight of King Neptune's Army, the second Captain of The Sun Pirates, and first fishman to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea. The third being the infamous Arlong, a crew member of The Sun Pirates, and later the Captain of the Arlong Pirates. And finally the fourth being Macro, a member of The Sun Pirates, the later Captain of the Macro Pirates, and a notorious slave trader.

But on this day a fifth person would be joining them, a fishman by the name of Uzumaki Naruto.

His story started like any other, he was born to Namikaze Minato a bull shark fishman and Uzumaki Kushina a dolphin mermaid. He grew up with love and affection, until the two were captured while they were out catching fish for their small, but respectable restaurant, and eventually sold in Sabaody Archipelago, leaving him at the mercy of the Fishman District.

This is his story.

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><p>Hearing the telltale scream of a fishman getting the living crap beaten out of him was the alarm clock Naruto woke up to. Flinging the torn and dirty blanket the blond yawned before getting to his feet. Bringing his hand to his back he bent it back and popped his spine back into alignment after sleeping on the hard floor within the hut he was 'provided' with.<p>

After scratching his side Naruto proceeded to put on a blue shirt and a slightly tattered pair of white shorts. "I wonder if Madame Shirley has some work for me?" he wondered to himself. After his parents were abducted the blond fishman was forced to live within the Fishman District when he was six years old, and it was only six months ago did he find a job that wasn't illegal after a nearly two years.

Giving a fond smile he remembered going past the Mermaid Cove for one 'errand' he was he was hired for within the Fishman District. All was what he considered normal while he was returning after the successful drop off when he found himself abducted by the playful mermaids, and because he was described as 'adorably cute' they helped him as best as they could once they found out about his life. Whenever he came around they always had some sort of work for him, usually they were small stuff, but he was eternally grateful for their kindness.

After walking out of the severely damaged hut Naruto headed straight towards the coral mansion on the sea floor of Fishman Island. Stepping over several unconscious bodies he kept his eyes peeled for any type of threat hidden within the dark alleyways, it wouldn't be the first time a child, or even an adult jumped him. After Fisher Tiger's death the peace that used to govern the Fishman District once again erupted into anarchy, times were hard back then, but after the great pirate fell things just became worse for everyone.

Thankfully for him nothing happened on his way out, sure he passed several dangerous looking fishmen, each boasting how they were better than the human race. Hearing that caused Naruto to grit his sharp teeth in anger. Humans, what a foul word. Before his parents were taken from him, he honestly didn't think much about the surface dwellers. Yes, he listened to Queen Otohime's speeches to her people about forming a bond with humans. She would also ask them to sign a petition to promote co-existence. Most however were met with refusals. Even now he kind of felt sorry for his queen, she tried so hard and got nothing but disappointment in return, and it did wench his heart when she apparently got drunk and screamed at everyone over the loudspeakers. But for him it was far too late to feel anything for humans, especially when they would destroy anyone's life to make a quick buck.

The blond soon stopped his self-loathing when he accidentally bumped into someone, someone big. Looking up Naruto's jaw dropped when he saw probably one of the biggest fishmen he ever saw in his entire life.

Standing at what he believed was nine foot eight the person was obviously a blue-skinned whale shark fishman with a face that he could only compare it to a demons. He had yellow eyebrows and sideburns, a bulb-like nose and an angular lower lip pointing upwards; a lightning-shaped scar can be seen from his left side burn and reaching over his left eye. He had a severe underbite that possessed two tusk-like conical lower fangs. His long, two-toned black hair had two long white stripes coming from the roots over his forehead and trailing down the back, and a small tuft of hair on his chin with a slight green hue. His hands and feet were webbed, typical for a normal fishman, and his limbs were somewhat thin in comparison with his enormous girth. And finally his gills were in between his shoulders and neck. He was wearing a fancy-looking diamond shaped karakusa with a floral design with a purple scarf-like a ribbon around his waist. For the fishman's footwear, he appeared to be wearing simple sandals on his webbed feet.

Leaning forward the large fishman bent his knees until he could fully see the person he bumped into. "Are you okay little one?" his rough, but kind voice asked.

"Ye-yea, I am." Naruto stammered out. When the man offered his giant hand the blond happily took it before he was easily raised to his feet. "I'm sorry I bumped into you mister..."

"Jinbe." The gigantic fishman introduced himself.

"The Knight of the Sea?" The blonds blue eyes nearly bulged out of his eyes in awe that he was looking upon one of the most legendary fishmen around.

Giving Naruro a chuckle in response Jinbe patted the young boy on the head, "Now where are you going all off in a rush?"

Becoming slightly flustered at the attention he was receiving he sputtered a bit before answering. "I-I was hea-ding-"

Before he could complete his answer the two heard a loud crash, alerting everyone within the area. Jinbe looked over to see a giant ship that was completely wrecked at the entrance of Fishman Island.

"What's going on Mister Jinbe?" Naruto asked the whale shark fishman.

"I honestly don't know…let's go find out." Grabbing the boy by the back of his shirt the former pirate Captain firmly placed him on his shoulders, and ran towards the sight of the wreck.

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><p>Before the former pirate Captain could get there, there was already a crowd, an angry crowd. Many of the merpeople's eye's widened when they saw the torn sails that had the insignia of the World Government, and it got worse when he saw a man with his dark green hair stick up at the top of his head, a wide, obese face with a bulbous nose, thick lips, and small slit-like eyes. The man was also wearing a white protective suit and was extremely bloody and injured. This man was Saint Mjosgard, a World Noble.<p>

Mjosgard pulled a flintlock from the holster on his belt and shot it off into the air, and began screaming. "Blast it all! Those worthless fools, dying after another!" Pointing his pistol at a random fishman and continued his haughty screaming. "You there! Fish! Bring me my mask at once! The stench of this place is simply unbearable! Hurry up and bring me my mask! Save my life you insignificant creature I demand it!"

The entire crowd just stayed still, many glaring at the World Noble.

Panting loudly the World Noble shakily pointed his pistol at a mermaid. "Are you all deaf! I said bring me a doctor I require treatment!"

Instead of a doctor walking forward several large fishmen stepped forward, each carrying a fire arm, and each having a tattoo of a red sun on various parts of their bodies. Saint Mjosgard's eyes widened in recognition and opened his fat mouth once again. "It's you, it's you! My slaves! You must return with me immediately, who gave you permission to leave, you lousy fish!"

In response to the man's useless screaming the scariest-looking fishman stepped on the noble's flintlock, and kept it under his foot, much to the man's shock. The various merpeople gasped, each shouting for them to stop what they were doing, and Mjosgard once again screaming at them, making threats and how important he was.

The scariest-looking of them sneered at him. "In the world above, you are protected by the treat of Marine Admirals coming to save your sorry ass!" His sneer quickly twisted into an evil grin before he continued. "But we're in the depths. As long as everyone is quiet…this will be no more than an 'accident as sea'."

The fishman's words seemed to have a strong effect, because every resident began to shout their encouragement. Shoot him they screamed, kill him hey screamed, make him suffer like he did to us they screamed.

"Don't you dare!" Saint Mjosgard screamed. "I'm an important person! You can't do this to me!"

"You of all people, I could never forgive. Even if I tried!" The fishman screamed at the World Noble before pulling the trigger.

The cheering immediately died down, and the cheering soon turned to gasps of horror. On top of the World Noble was a golden blonde haired mermaid that was partially held up in two short loops. She also had green eyes, thick eyelashes, and wore pink lipstick. The mermaid was wearing a very long white kimono with a cream-colored carp-scale design and a white cloth around her shoulders that somehow floated behind her head.

The fishman who pulled the trigger immediately began to tear up out of shock. "Queen Otohime!"

Ignoring the searing pain in her right arm from where she was shot Otohime turned her head towards everyone, "Drop your weapons now!" She commanded. "There are children watching."

"Aladdin! I heard a World Noble was here, where is he?" Jinbe shouted once he arrived.

Turning to face him was a tall, muscular merman with slanted thin eyes, dark hair tied in a long ponytail falling on his back in many curves, that matched his full beard with a goatee. He had long light-colored tail on the upper part, but darker near the fin area. The man wore a long, open black vest with the Sun Pirate's Jolly Roger on the left side of his stomach along with a tattoo on his left bicep that said '1TC'. Clutched in his hands was a silver trident.

"I don't know I just got here myself…" He then trailed off and raised an eyebrow when he saw a boy on his former boss' shoulders.

But coming right behind him were the queen's children. One being a cream-skinned muscular shark merman, with a wide chest and large arms. He had a long face, framed by blue wavy fair hair flowing down to his shoulders, a sharp and pointy nose, and some sort of dot his forehead. He had gills on his massive neck, and a dark blue tail with llight blue polka-dots. The only piece of clothing he wore was a purple garment around his waist, held up by an extremely long light blue long band, which passeed over his shoulders, drawing a circle around the back of his neck, and falls down to his waist, seemingly floating behind him.

The second was a light-brown skinned oarfish merman and was easily the tallest of the three males and extremely thin as well. He had wide eyes, long wavy orange hair, gills running along his neck, and beaver-like teeth. He also has a long purple tail with white polka-dots and a red fin. Unlike the other two he was the only one fully clothed in the upper body, wearing a fancy white robe-like garment with sleeves that are puffed at the shoulders and wrists, and a orange sash around his waist in the same manner as his eldest brother.

The third was a pink-skinned rotund, stocky and large opah merman. Like the other three, he had a polka dot tail, with a black variation along with white polka-dots and red scales. He wore a blue hat with a white stripe going across the middle of it that barely covered his brown hair, and the red fins on his head. And like his eldest brother he wore a light blue garment around his waist held in place by a yellow sash in the exact same manner as the other two.

Finally the last was a mermaid, a giant-sized smelt-whiting mermaid with short strawberry-blond hair with a fish-shaped hairgrip, green eyes like her mothers, and a permanent blush on her cheeks. She had a very long light red and pink striped tail with broadly striped tail ends in a ruffle around her waist. The only piece of clothing she wore was a cream colored crop top with floating straps.

Naruto really didn't pay attention to what they were saying; instead he kept his eyes on the queen. He saw her begging them not to harm the noble, for the sake of the children; he saw her telling them not to pass their hatred onto the next generation. But her speech fell deaf on the world Noble's, with an insane glee in his eyes Saint Mjosgard picked up his discarded pistol and pointed it at his queen's head!

Jinbe saw the action and opened his mouth to shout out a warning. But suddenly his shoulders felt heavy like ten pounds were suddenly dropped on him, then he felt light as a feather and saw Naruto springing at the World Noble with a roar of furious outrage escaping from his mouth. The roar was soon silenced as the blonds mouth firmly clamped onto Mjosgard's gun arm, his teeth digging into the soft flesh of his hand and his gun, snapping the deadly weapon in half.

As the noble fell back in a loud scream of pain, Otohime immediately turned around to see a boy that barely looked to be about eight years old. At first she thought he was a human with his lack of webbed hands and feet, tanned skin, and messy blond hair. But taking a closer look she saw the tell-tale gills on his neck, the dorsal fin on his back, the black tiger stripes running along his arms, a few on his fin, and oddly enough three thin ones on each side of his cheeks, but most importantly his sharp teeth tearing into Saint Mjosgard's hand! She went to raise her arm to stop him, but then she saw the boys eyes, his eyes that were the color of the sea were filled with so much hate and rage, the sight of a child having eyes like that brought tears to her eyes.

"You little freak!" Saint Mjosgard screamed at Naruto. Violently flinging his bloody hand towards his ship the sudden movement forced the tiger shark fishman to tear great chunks of flesh, muscle, and most importantly his thumb and index from his hand! While he cried in absolute pain the boy hit the ship hard enough to normally kill a child. While he was sniveling about the loss of his precious fingers and his royal blood being spilt by a lowly fish, he did take pleasure in his superior mind that the boy was now dead for his sins.

Or that's what he thought until he heard an angry groan coming from his ship. Fearfully turning his head he saw Naruto getting to his feet, everyone saw him spitting the man's fingers and flesh from his mouth, and the promise of violence in his eyes as his body looked like it expanding with muscle and adrenaline. Jinbe's eyes widened when the boy raised his right arm and punched the hull of the ship, causing the hull to quake and shatter upon impact.

Screaming out in terror Saint Mjosgard brought his left hand down to his hip holster, and brought out his second and last pistol. Shakily raising it at the enraged fishman tears of terror spilled from his eyes, and snot dripped down his nose. "What the hell are you!" He screamed when a sudden terrible smell came from his pants, and a vision of a defiant bull shark fishman he killed a year and a half ago replaced the boy attacking him. Then for the first time in his entire life the noble put two and two together, and gave off a wicked chuckle. "Now I see it, you're the spawn of that fish and mermaid. Hahaha! Well then die with your wretched family!"

Naruto's eyes widened from the noble's confession he clutched his head within his hands. His mind processed what Mjosgard said before he screamed a heart wrenching scream of sorrow and denial. His eyes that were once blue slowly became as crimson as freshly spilt blood, bearing his bloody teeth hatefully at the World Noble; he bolted towards him, tearing up the ground with each step as his rage poured out of him.

While this was happing a six year old Shirahoshi not used to the violent nature she was witnessing began to cry. Raising her head upwards she screamed at it all to stop at the top of her lungs, her screams echoed throughout the entire ocean causing the ground to underneath them to shake and crumble, before bursting to reveal three gigantic Sea Kings, the biggest of them devouring the noble's ship. Many people shrieked in terror, Saint Mjosgard fainted with a good amount of foam falling from his mouth.

All except Naruto, he just stared impassively at the three creatures before letting out a threatening roar. To the second shock of those still conscious the three Sea Kings let out a submissive whimper and slightly lowered their gigantic heads, with a growl escaping his throat the blond started walking towards the unconscious World Noble. Every merfolk gathered there took a step back when they saw the determination to kill the noble in his crimson eyes.

Otohime however, couldn't allow him, a child to stain his hands with another's blood, and flowed over in front of the noble blocking him with her arms wide open. Naruto didn't even stop when he saw his queen in front of him, he was too far deep in his anger that he flexed his right hand, his small muscles bulging he geared up to attack the two of them. Everyone panicked when his fist lashed out at the queen's face, the women shrieked out in terror, the men moved to stop him, but it was useless when the tiger shark fishman stopped just inches from her face.

Tears spilled from his eyes when they returned to their true blue color. Just looking at Otohime's determined face stopped him from going through with his murderous deed, and seeing her daughter, who looked no older than six crying for everything to stop, he couldn't do that to another child, especially when it happened to him. Feeling two gentle arms wrap around his shoulders Naruto collapsed from exhaustion into the warm embrace of his queen, fully spent from the amount of energy he used today.

"The Mermaid Princess, and The Sea King at the same exact moment." Jinbe whispered to himself in disbelief, turning his giant head towards the queen he saw her ask his former crewmate to take care of the human.

"It will be done my Queen." Aladdin reluctantly said, "But what of the boy?"

"I will take care of him myself." Otohime told him as she gently picked the boy into her arms.

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><p>Several hours passed after the incident at the front gate, yet King Neptune was not satisfied just hearing about it from one person. As king he needed to hear all the accounts, so far he listened to Aladdin, then Hody Jones, his wife was currently with their daughter to keep her calm, so far he didn't like being what he was told. But now he was asking his most trusted friend, Jinbe.<p>

The king was a giant-sized and muscular coelacanth merman. He had a dark red nose, small eyes, and long thick orange curly hair, eyebrows, and beard. The merman was bare-chested revealing a thick amount of hair on his chest and arms, and he had matching black tattoos on both arms, which looked like spirals with wavy protrusion designs around it. The only things that would be considered clothing was a golden crown that resembled a tulip with jewels embedded on the base of it, a golden bracelet on each of his wrists, and a golden trident with an elaborate design laying near him.

At his side was Hoe, a gigantic whale that was his pet, as well as his transportation. The mammal was black in color with a light underbelly, a set of rounded teeth and round eyes. He was wearing an elaborate crown on his head, and a bubble ring to 'swim' through the air since he wasn't in the water at the moment.

"Jinbe." Neptune's sophisticated voice said to the former Captain of The Sun Pirates. "I want to know what happened at the entrance, and why a World Noble is missing his fingers, and a young fishman in one of the guest rooms."

Bowing in response the whale shark fishman began telling his king from his own point of view. "My Lord it all started out when I bumped into the young boy on my way here. He came from the Fishman District-" seeing his king narrow his eyebrows at the mere mention of that crime ridden place Jinbe sighed a bit. "I know your majesty I don't like that place either, but he is just a child who lost his parents."

"I know that." Neptune said, "It just breaks my heart seeing that my intention for good backfired." after a moment of self-brooding the king motioned for Jinbe to continue.

"After I introduced myself we both heard a loud crash, and I took him with me to investigate, I thought it would be a good idea at the time my king." he defended himself a tiny bit when he saw Neptune raise an eyebrow at him. "When we got there I saw Queen Otohime defending the World Noble from being killed by the angry members of my former crew after a bullet grazed her. She then gave a speech about not passing the hatred onto the children." Giving the king a fanged smile Jinbe said, "It struck a chord in me, at least until the World Noble tried to shoot her.

"Before I could attempt to stop him the boy flew from my shoulders and attacked him. I saw the boy bite clean through the gun and into the noble's hand. The man screamed out in pain before flinging his off his hand; taking his fingers and a good part of his hand with him. When the boy hit the hall of the ship I thought he snapped his neck."

"But he didn't did he?" Neptune asked.

"No, instead the boy got back up, and I saw his eyes. Your majesty the boy's eyes that were blue when I met him were pure blood red. Not just his sclera, iris, or even his pupil. They were all completely blood red, that's not all what normally should have been a weak ten year old, at least until he hit puberty, he destroyed the hull of the ship, tore up the ground underneath him, and him normal arms bulged with muscle that he shouldn't have."

Neptune's black eyes widened in realization. "Jinbe surely you don't mean the boy has the-"

"I do my lord, the boy has what I like to call Sea King Mode an incredible power that grants him the strength, anger and ferocity of a Sea King. From what I saw he had the crimson red eyes, the muscle expansion, the high immunity to pain with what I suspect was a high amount of adrenaline, the intense bloodlust, and most importantly the submissive nature from the three Sea King's your daughter summoned."

King Neptune leaned back and rubbed his bearded chin with his left hand. Within the entire history of The Ryugu Kingdom there existed three legends. The first being the Tamatebako a mystical box that was capable of making anyone older, and rumored to be held with the royal family-something he would neither confirm nor deny. The second being The Mermaid Princess of a mermaid capable of speaking with Sea Kings every few hundred years, which was apparently his only daughter Shirahoshi. And the third and final legend was The Sea King, just like The Mermaid Princess, only every few hundred years a fishman was granted with the power of the Sea King's.

"What do you suppose we do old friend?" Neptune asked. "If we leave this matter alone there will be a catastrophe on our hands. Otohime and I can handle things with Shirahoshi, but what shall we do with the boy?"

"I will handle things with the boy my king." Jinbe told him.

"But don't you have your duties as one of The Seven Warlords?"

"I have not been given any duties from the World Government, I will train the boy for as long as I can, and if I have to I will take him with me to see the world and introduce him to the various cultures of the world. And of course lessen his hatred on humanity." The former Sun Pirate responded.

"Then let it be done." Neptune said to him.

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><p>While the king and warlord were chatting in the throne room, Otohime found herself standing in front of the room Naruto was sleeping in. After assuring Shirahoshi that everything was fine the queen found herself in thinking about the nameless blond tiger shark that nearly killed the World Noble. When she saw his eyes that were as blue as the sea, she saw that he experienced the tragedy of losing his parents, something that nearly broke him and brought the hatred of humanity in his heart.<p>

Opening the door Otohime entered the low lit room to see the boy peacefully sleeping in a medium sized bed. Almost floating towards him the queen slowly brought her right hand towards his tan face, gently placing her index finger on one of his whiskered cheeks, then to her surprise the boy leaned into her hand. "Mom." She heard him whisper out.

Giving a sad smile the queen stayed like that for the longest time, just keeping the fishman company like a mother would do for a child. The serene moment was soon interrupted by a soft knocking on the door. "Come in." She gently called out.

The door opened to reveal Jinbe. The gigantic fishman knelled down to poke his head through the six foot tall door. "My queen may I have a word with you?"

Reluctantly pulling he hand away from the boys head, she bent over to give him a motherly kiss on his forehead to keep him at ease before leaving the room. After quietly closing the door Otohime tuned to Jinbe, "What did my husband say?"

"After hearing all sides of the incident from Aladdin, Hody, and myself, we both came to the conclusion that the boy should stay here in the palace. As soon as he awakes I will start training hi-" Jinbe's sentence was immediately cut off when Otohime jumped to his height and bopped him on the head. Blinking in surprise the former pirate Captain looked down at the goldfish mermaid.

"You will not be training him!" The queen said to him. "You saw what happened to him today, what that boy needs is love, and a family right now, not learning how to fight."

"But my queen!" The whale shark fishman protested.

Poking the former pirate Captain in the stomach Otohime continued to protest his decision, poking his stomach with each and every word. "I know what he is Jinbe, like Shirahoshi he's one of the legends that have been passed down for generations. He needs to learn that not all humans are like the noble he met today, please just trust me on this."

Rubbing his stomach Jinbe could only, and reluctantly nod at his queen's logic. "But you may want to take that with your husband."

"Just leave him to me." The queen smiled at him.

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><p>Almost an hour later Naruto awoke from his sleep. Grumbling about the stupid floor he placed his hands on the soft floor…wait a second the floor wasn't soft, his eyes widening he threw the royal blue sheets off and fell to the floor. His bare feet feeling the carpet he bolted towards the door, frantically slamming the door open the blonds breath hitched when he saw the marble walls and the fancy decorations.<p>

"No." He whispered to himself, "I've been captured." Hearing the sound of footsteps and chattering voices Naruto ran in the opposite direction. The sound of his bare feet clapping against the tiles, his head frantically searching for any exits that he could find, he didn't care if it was an air duct, a door, or even a window to jump out of, anything was better than the unspeakable things the king would do for killing the queen.

Skidding to a stop when he heard voices around the corners, the tiger shark fishman frantically searched for a way out. There were no doors near him; soldiers were coming from each side of the hallways. The only thing in front of his was a balcony, with the need to survive overpowering his sense of judgment he sped towards the balcony and jumped off it.

Immediately he knew that was not a good idea when he saw nothing but a garden. "Oh shi-"

Meanwhile below the balcony Shirahoshi was happily clapping to her brothers; Ryuboshi and Manboshi doing a wild and silly dance in front of her while Fukaboshi stood on the side with a humorous smile on his face. While his younger brothers were entertaining the only sister he had in the world his mind was in another place, more specifically it was on the events from a few hours ago when he saw that tiger shark fishman, well the term would be fishboy as he should rightfully call him, and his pure savagery against the World Noble.

Thankfully his younger siblings were more or less ignorant, or too shocked to hear what transpired between that horrible man and the young boy. Shaking his head he honestly couldn't believe that a boy barely a year older than his sister went through so much in the years where one was normally showered with love and affection. But the most important was his intense hatred of humans, the first prince himself didn't know too much about humanity, except what his mother taught him and all the children who came for her lessons. But her lessons included their society, their achievements, and most importantly their acts of kindness towards each other, the noble however dashed many of those lessons out the window showing him that his mother was sugar coating the truth.

Any more thoughts on the matter were interrupted when he heard a long running of 't's'. Looking upwards, his siblings and himself saw the blond falling out of the sky. He hit a surface that broke his fall, it wasn't the ground or the flowers, no it was his little sister's head. The fishman bounced right off her forehead and then violently hit the ground with a loud thump.

The two younger brothers screamed in surprise and immediately went to calm their teary-eyed sister. Fukaboshi turned his head towards the tiger shark fishman he was just thinking of, suppressing a chuckle when he saw his spiraling eyes and exaggerated bump on his head, the merman wiggled on over to his unconscious form and started poking his forehead with his tail.

A minute later Naruto irritably whacked whatever was prodding him in the forehead. "Ugh, can someone tell me the name of the ship that hit me?" He muttered to himself.

"The ship as you called her was my little sister." An unfamiliar voice alerted the blond.

His eyes widening Naruto slowly turned his head to see the semi-familiar face of Prince Fukaboshi. Immediately panicking he sprang to his feet and got into a sloppy fighting stance. "I'msorryIdidn'tmeantodoitpleasedon'tkillme!"

"I'm sorry what did you say?" Fukaboshi asked.

Hearing the calmness in the mermans voice the tiger shark fishman lowered his arms. Seeing that the prince held a look of confusion instead of anger, the thought that he killed the queen lessened quite a bit, but he still wasn't fully convinced and asked one of the dumbest things in his short life. "The queen, is she okay?"

"Mother is fine, exhausted from today's events, but in perfect health." The first prince said.

Sighing in relief the feeling of immense guilt was lifted from the blonds shoulders, only to be replaced by two more weights when he was tackled by the other mermen, and got into a small scuffle with them. Fukaboshi squinted his eyes to see what was exactly going inside the cloud of dust, at least until a pebble flew out from the cloud and smacked him in-between the eyes, "That's it! You three knock it off!"

Immediately the dust cloud died down, revealing Naruto pushing his right big toe up Ryuboshi's nose, while the oarfish merman was strangling said foot while his tail was wrapped around the fisman's waist. And Manboshi was currently chomping on the blonds head, even though Naruto's left arm was putting him in a headlock, causing Shirahoshi to giggle a bit.

"Now I'm going to ask three questions." The shark merman said to him after the three disengaged from each other. "First I want to know how you got in the garden. Second, where did you come from, and finally who are you?"

"First of all my name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said to him, "I came from the Fishman District and somehow ended up here, finally I jumped out of a window to fly out of here." He finished with a tone filled with sarcasm, this however was lost on the three younger siblings who gasped in awe.

Letting out a chuckle of amusement Fukaboshi reached out and patted Naruto on the shoulder. He honestly didn't know why his mother brought the young tiger shark fishman into their home, whether it was impulsive; something she was insanely famous for, or planned after what he saw that day, he would do his best to make sure that whatever his mother's plans for him came to fruition.

"You can really fly? That's so cool!" Shirahoshi giggled in excitement, bouncing up and down on her tail the mermaid started clapping. "Do it again, do it again!"

Nervously scratching the back of his head Naruto replied, "I'm afraid I can't right now."

"Pwease?" The gigantic mermaid clasped her hands together, and gave him the adorable gigantic teary-eyed look.

Seeing the fishman in a pickle Ryuboshi and Manboshi gained two mischievous looks on their faces.

"Don't worry sis." Manboshi started.

"He just needs a little 'help' to get started." Ryuboshi finished.

* * *

><p>In a balcony overlooking the garden King Neptune, Queen Otohime, and Jinbe looked over the five children with smiles on their faces. They seemed to be interacting pretty well...at least until the two youngest mermen grabbed Naruto under his arms, and threw him into the air. That only caused them to laugh when Shirahoshi giggled in amusement.<p>

"Am I right? Or am I right?" Otohime's sweet, yet all-knowing voice echoed in the males ears.

Letting out a sigh of exasperation Neptune nodded in defeat. "Okay my dear we see your point. Young Nakuto will stay with us so he can learn to master the gift within him."

"It's Naruto my king." Jinbe reprimanded the God of the Sea, even though it was a small quirk in his king's personality. "But right now let's leave him be and have a normal childhood like other children should have."

Giving a laugh of agreement Neptune continued to look down on the now playing children. None of them knowing that the future they envisioned would spiral completely out of control.

* * *

><p>Pvt. Liquor: Holy shit, he did it! Armageddon went through with his promise and did it!<p>

Lt. Doom: Damn right he did Private!

Armageddon: Damn right I did, with the help of Agurra of the Darkness, the man who convinced me to take this fic even remotely possible I created this. But he takes the credit for making Naruto a fishman, and producing several ideas for future chapters so all the credit goes to him for this. And I will tell you this, we already got the two pairings figured out which is NOT negotiable, also this is strictly going to stick to One Piece characters...unless we probably see a good reason to put one of them in, it won't happen but shit does happen.

Pvt. VFSNAKE: That's cool man, I honestly hope the fans take a liking to it.

Pvt. Leaf Ranger: Of course they'll like it! Armageddon is probably one of the best writers on this entire fucking site! I mean he ain't super famous like many others, but his realism and strict look at details is what makes his stuff interesting!

Pvt. Gold: That's true, wait why is my name short! Oh right Armageddon shortens people's names because he's a lazy bastard...though I like the name gold. Yea gold is good!

Armageddon: Haha okay everyone I hope you enjoy this first chapter, rock on and let me know what you think!

Lt. RasenganFin: Ain't you forgetting something?

Armageddon: Oh right the shout out. This time it is Black Flames Dance In The Wind: Rise of Naruto by DevilKeys Writing! There we go, see you all soon!


	2. The tears of an island

I do not own Naruto or One Piece. Seriously if I did then I would be jumping into a vault full of money like Scrooge McDuck! Arghhhh fuck that hurts! Why would he do that? Why would he jump into a pool of metal? Fucking ouch!

"Talk"

_'Think'_

* * *

><p>"What did you do this time?" Otohime asked as she crossed her arms over her chest, she tried to keep a stern face, but was failing to hold in her laughs.<p>

Hanging in front of her were none other than Naruto thanks to the three Royal Knights guarding him, two flanking the one in the middle with his webbed hand on the scruff of Naruto's shirt. The guards armor that normally consisted of large striped snail shells as helmets and shoulder pads, weren't their normal color of white and black, instead they were neon pink and burnt orange respectively.

The one holding a grinning Naruto stepped forward revealing himself to be a grey-skinned great white shark fishman. He had a bulged belly, but muscular arms and legs betrayed that one trait for the fishman held an aura of power. He had glaring eyes, with long and distinctive eyelashes, a mouth full of sharp, triangular teeth, and a stub nose. He was the only one without a helmet to reveal his long curly black hair, with a long tuft hanging on the left part of his face.

Slamming the trident in his right hand on the ground the fishman told the queen just exactly what he did. "Your Majesty, we found this one committing unspeakable vandalism to the Royal Knights armor. After being caught we gave chase and," he indicted towards the blond, narrowing his eyes as he did so. "It took us over three hours to catch him. I do not know how or why he did it, but this cannot stand my queen."

"I agree." Otohime responded with a barely contained smile, "Please take Naruto-chan to his room, the king and I will have a serious discussion with him."

Giving a bow to her the three knights split off into three separate directions.

* * *

><p>"So mister knight you're not entirely mad that I defaced your armor, are you?" Naruto asked after they left the queen's presence.<p>

"Of course I am!" The knight barked out in anger. "Not only did you single-handedly deface some very expensive armor that may have to be scrapped, but you also put itching powder into our clothes, and dulled our weapons. And I keep telling you my name is Hody Jones you little runt! Remember it!"

Not even fazed by the fishman's yelling Naruto crossed his arms in front of him. "Those things are only minor annoyances with no permanent damage Hody Jones. Besides you will thank me in the long run." He cleaned his ear with his pinky as he hung from the great white fishman's left hand by the scruff of his yakuta, who looked puzzled by the brats response.

"Thank you? Why would I thank a little brat like you for making my life a living hell for the last two weeks?"

"Just think about it." Naruto's voice took a sudden chill that surprised Hody, as he turned towards the fishman, his eyes and mouth in a malign grimace. "The Royal Guard is supposed to protect the Royal Family, yet not once, not twice, but three times I have pranked you guys. Did it ever cross your mind that if a _child_ could somehow sneak past you of all people, who says a professional assassin couldn't do the same thing, but instead of defacing your armor he slits your throats, and then assassinates the Royal Family?"

Hody couldn't believe what this kid had said, yet has made a point.

A very interesting point.

His intense eyes widening Hody gave a shark-like grin before bursting into laughter. "Jahahahaha! That's quite the dark mind you have there boy, disguising something simple as a prank to teach us a lesson."

"I grew up in the Fishman District, that place changes people." The blond deadpanned.

"No shit kid, I grew up there." Hody grunted in reply once he got to Naruto's designated room. Opening the door he dropped the tiger shark fishman into it. "Now that you got your message across I will inform everyone to up their efforts in protecting the Royal Family."

Slamming the door shut Hody Jones didn't see the unofficial member of the Royal Family opening his mouth and walked away. _'An interesting brat.'_ He thought to himself. Then he split his face with an ominous grin_. 'No the perfect brat. I've always dreamed of mauling a World Noble like that. Maybe one day, he could be of use…yes…I could obtain the power of the Sea King for myself! I only need…'_ His eye's looked towards the young tiger shark who hummed, blissfully unaware_. 'A little push in the right direction.'_

* * *

><p>After Hody literally dropped Naruto into his room the blond found himself sitting on the small bed. His human fingers gently caressing the fine silk fabric that seemed alien to him. Moving his blue eyes he honestly couldn't believe that he was in a room that wasn't filled with dirt, garbage, and completely wrecked.<p>

His eyes settled onto the giant desk that was five feet away from his bed, on it were two things that he couldn't tear his eyes away from. The first being a giant-sized mirror with golden trimmings and pearls embedded within it. When he looked at his reflection he saw nothing but a complete stranger, the dirty street clothes that he was used to wearing, his somewhat dirty skin, and his unruly blond hair were gone. In their place was…someone he just didn't recognize that was completely clean and wearing a white yakuta and an orange sash.

Getting off his bed Naruto walked over to the second object on his desk. It was a photograph with a simple wooden frame, sitting down in the wicker chair pulled by his desk, picking it up in his hands a small, sad smile etched onto his face. In the photo were three people, the first being a six foot tall gray-skinned bull shark fishman with blond hair with jaw-length bangs framing both sides of his face, bright blue eyes, and a real toothy smile. He was wearing a blue shirt with the sleeves torn off, tattered white shorts that reached his shins, and an iron fishing spear clutched in his right hand.

The second was a beautiful dolphin tailed mermaid with a slender, but feminine build, fair skin, bright red hair that reached her flippers, with strands that framed both sides of her smiling face, the left of which was parted by a yellow clip and violet eyes. The only piece of clothing she was wearing was a red bikini top that held in her decently sized breasts.

And finally the third person was a younger Naruto, smiling brightly as he held both his parents hands.

"It sure doesn't feel like it's been two years." He said to himself, "It feels much longer than that hasn't it? Mom. Dad. I honestly don't know what to think. I feel so out of place here, two weeks ago I was living on the streets and doing odd jobs for the various criminals within the Fishman District, but then after biting off your killer's fingers, I'm in the Ryugyu Palace of all places for something that I felt was justified."

Hearing no response from the picture the blond let out a sad chuckle, "I'll thank Jinbe for bringing this back to me from my hut, I promise you all that. I just hope you guys are resting in peace, and I hope to see you two when I eventually die."

Unknown to him Otohime was standing outside with her ear pressed against the door. She wiped away a slight tear spilling from her left green eye when she heard the sorrow in his voice. Taking a calm breath the goldfish mermaid brought her dainty right hand up and knocked on his door.

"Naruto can I please come in?" Hearing a 'yes' in confirmation she opened the door and found the tiger shark fishman sitting on the wicker chair by his desk.

"I know why your here your highness. And I'm sorry for doing it." Naruto apologized.

"Naruto I'm not mad." Otohime said to him. "But I must know, what's making you act this way?" Poking his head in emphases she continued. "I know that readjusting from the streets may be hard for you, but I want to understand."

"My queen it's not easy to explain." The tiger shark fishman said to her. Opening his mouth to continue Naruto found himself interrupted when he found himself pulled into Otohimes comforting hug. They separated, the young blond tiger shark's shocked eyes staring into the kind understanding ones of the goldfish mermaid.

"I have all the time in the world."

* * *

><p>While Otohime was dealing with Naruto, Jinbe was unfortunately dealing with Saint Mjosgard once again. Dear Neptune the man was testing his patience, every single day since the man woke up all he did was complain. He complained about the food, the medical treatment, the uncomfortable bed, the doctors and nurses, and most importantly the loss of his right thumb and index finger, and of course his demand that the 'monster' who did this to him to be put to death.<p>

"Are you even listening!" Mjosgard screamed at the whale shark fishman. "I want that water breathers head right in front of me now!"

"And I keep telling you I will not heed to your regard Saint Mjosgard. That boy defended the queen that you threatened to kill, it may have been overkill, but at least you are still breathing. You should be grateful." Jinbe calmly responded to the extremely spoiled noble.

"That is not good enough!" The World Noble literally spat at him, "I am a descendant of the Twenty Kings, the creators of the World Government! The creators of order and peace in a world of injustice and discord! By birthright I am superior to you in each and every way! And if you don't comply you abomination I will have you killed as wel-" before Mjosgard could even complete his threat Jinbe raised his right fist, and easily punched a hole as wide as he was tall in the wall.

"My patience is wearing thin with you. Noble." Jinbe growled out, his glaring eyes silencing the Tenyurbito. "Normally I would settle this diplomatically, but you forced my hand." Reaching his giant hand into his karakusa he pulled out a Den Den Mushi, not a regular one, but a small black one. Seeing Saint Mjosgard's already pasty white skin turn even whiter the warlord gave him a victorious grin.

"I assume you're familiar with the Black Den Den Mushi, from the very second you were admitted I have been sending every threat and 'confessions' you made at me."

Still pale as a ghost the noble gave a nervous smile and laughed at him. "That's your ace in the hole? You stupid fool, who could possibly be listening? We control a vast majority of the civilized world, the Marines obey our every command, and no insignificant pirate will even do something to us no matter how high his bounty is! Who do you think can even make us think twice!"

"The Gorosei," Jinbe responded, causing the noble to shut his mouth in horror and to pale in a unbelievable shade of white. "And I must say none of them are remotely happy with your actions toward my people."

Suddenly a black snail popped out of its portable device, opening his mouth an old voice that contained much wisdom. "What Jinbe says is true Saint Mjosgard. We are most displeased with what transpired down there."

Feeling extremely ill Mjosgard sputtered in denial and shock. "No! What you have been hearing are lies! I knew he was carrying it-"

"Quit lying!" An older raspy voice shouted at him, only this one sounded like a man who experienced many wars. "We are not as dumb as you may have thought yourself to believe. Don't you know what you've done! Not only have you caused a near fallout between humans and fishman by attempting to shoot their queen, you have also threatened one of our Shichibukai!"

"He's inferior!" The Saint screamed in response, tears started welling in his eyes and snot falling from his nose showing that he was growing desperate. "That stupid fish has no right! No right! He's nothing but a lowly pirate that sold himself to you!"

"He knows this all too well." A younger sounding voice responded. "But regardless he formed a pact with us, and we need someone like him within our ranks so our decision overrules yours."

Gulping loudly the noble made one desperate attempt to defend himself. "You can't be serious. We are human beings, the mightiest species in the entire world! We can beat them, no... we can exterminate them! Wipe them from the face of the earth with the power of our military!"

"That won't happen." A voice as old as the first one, but filled with a slight tiredness responded. "We will not have a pointless war with Fishman Island, even with all our military might there will be pointless casualties on both sides. And all that bloodshed for what? Because a young fishman bit off your fingers for defending the queen? I think not Saint Mjosgard."

"But…but…"

"No more buts!" The final voice, filled with anger and arrogance barked out at him. "When you have recovered we are demanding you return to Mariejois so we can discuss your punishment!"

"Pu-pu-pu-punishment! But why! You're like us! We're relatives! All of us! Why! You're also nobles to so why!"

"Because we are enlightened. We let you and our other relatives live on a whim, or perhaps it's sentimentality. Now comply with the queen, or else."

After the transmission ended Jinbe gave the World Noble a superior look and left the room, just missing the man fainting from shock.

* * *

><p>Many untold hours later Otohime gently ran her fingers through Naruto's spiky blond hair. While the tiger shark fishman was blissfully asleep the queen took that time to digest everything he told her. It honestly shocked her to learn that a boy, barely a year older than her daughter went through so much hardship in his life. The goldfish mermaid learned that after spending four blissful years with his parents who were suddenly taken right out of his life was almost immediately purged into a life of crime.<p>

She heard the rumors of the Fishman District, her husband's worst failure in his career as king of Ryugyu Kingdom, but she didn't want to believe any of it. Whether it was denial for the love of her husband to overlook his mistakes or denial that such a placed existed. But she had the living proof sleeping in her lap, a boy who should have been in school or at least learning from his parents, was instead beating other kids; and sometimes adults for his territory, being a drug mule, and even to her increasing horror pit fights where the children beat each other half-to death while the adults bet on who would win.

"Never again will you have to endure that Naruto-kun." She whispered to him, "I promise that after we get the Reverie I will dedicate my time to fix the Fishman District, that's a promise so that no one can ever go through any of that ever again."

After putting the young tiger shark fishman to bed, and tucking him in, Otohime gently kissed his forehead with a smile and left him to sleep. After shutting the door she was surprised to see Jinbe almost in front of her.

"Sorry to disturb you my Queen." The former captain of The Sun Pirates apologized. "But I had a feeling you would be with the young one after the 'incident' with the royal armor." He held in a small chuckle when he remembered seeing several dozen knights in that horrendous armor chasing after a certain blond.

"You would be right Jinbe," Otohime responded, "So how have the negotiations with the World Noble been? Did you finally convince him to finally forgive Naruto?"

"I did." The Knight of the Sea boldly lied to her.

Placing her right hand on her chest, the queen sighed in relief. "That's good. Thank you Jinbe."

"Is it all right for me to see him?"

"I'm sorry but I just put him to bed, he…had a mentally exhausting day." Seeing the whale shark fishman raise an eyebrow Otohime explained what she meant. "Naruto told me exactly what goes on in the Fishman District."

"I see." Jinbe winced a bit. Compared to many others like Arlong or Macro, he was one of the lucky ones, because of his size he wasn't a target for muggings or the usual beat downs, he joined Neptune's military as soon as he reached the appropriate age, and basically got out of the life before it could even pull him in. "I'll speak with him another time then, farewell my queen." Bowing as low as he could the gigantic fishman walked away.

* * *

><p>A week later we find Naruto and Shirahoshi in the garden where they first officially met. But he wasn't exactly a happy camper with the gigantic mermaid constantly decorating his head with flowers.<p>

"Is this really necessary Shira-chan?" Naruto asked while his right eyebrow twitched in annoyance. Everyone was watching them, the guards sniggering as the young princess continued to place another crown of flowers on his head, making him look like he had a multicolored afro.

"Of course it is Naru-chan, it makes you look so pretty!" Shirahoshi giggled in response.

"I must agree, it does make you look rather pretty Naruto-_chan_." His right eye twitching in severe annoyance Naruto turned his head to see Fukaboshi coming towards them, a playful smile on his face, and a golden trident clutched in his right hand.

"Very funny Prince Fukaboshi, very funny." The blond tiger shark fishman gritted out and turned his eye's away in annoyance. "What's with the trident? You going to try out for the guard or something?"

"Not after what you did to them." Fukaboshi replied to him. "But now that I'm older, father said that it would be a good idea for me to start practicing with my weapon of choice." Stamping the butt of the weapon on the ground he gave a massive grin. "So like my father I chose the trident, you better hurry Naruto or you'll never surpass me."

"Oh yea!" Naruto jumped to his feet and gave an intimidating stare that horribly failed due to his flower afro. "I haven't been sitting on my butt during my entire stay here. Every day I work on my cardio and the muscles in my arms, I'll catch up to you soon!"

Shaking his head in an amused manner the first prince knew that the blond wasn't boasting like his younger brothers. Underneath his white yakuta was a body that was quite sturdy, not remotely muscular because of his young age, but not fat either. "Maybe one day Naruto, but right now I need you take your wig off and have the two of you follow me."

Sticking his tongue out at the elder merman the blond took the monstrous flower ornament off his head, and followed the first son of the king with the giant child mermaid trailing beside him. After exiting the garden the two children following the teenager entered a hallway adorned with literally hundreds of paintings couldn't help but stare at the various large scale portraits of members of the royal family, various knights from the past, and a few...humans.

The four most striking portraits were one of King Neptune when he was in his prime, granted he was still a giant, and had a shorter beard, but he was quite fetching in his armor.

The second was a tall pale blue-skinned blue shark fishman with small, round white eyes, gill-like facial markings under his eyes and on his shoulders, and sharp triangular teeth. His hair that was a dull blue color was in the form of a shark fin. While he was wearing the Royal Knights armor his weapon of choice was something rather unusual. It looked like a sword, a very big sword, almost as tall as the wielder actually. From what Naruto saw at the tip of the giant sword's handle was a small skull, but oddly enough the entire blade was wrapped in thick bandages.

The third had two human men in it. The first was a tall man who wore a long red captain's coat and a red captain's hat with a jolly roger depicting a smiling skull with a thick curvy mustache on its upper lip and two bones behind it. Beneath his coat, he wore a blue shirt and had a green sash around his waist. He had a white cravat around his neck, wore dark blue pants, and what appeared to be black sea boots. The man's most prominent physical features were thick black chin-length black hair, a curved black mustache, a fierce grin, and intense black eyes which showed an unyielding spirit.

The second was a broad chested muscular man with short strawberry blond hair, round glasses and black facial hair, which were arranged in four stripe-like patterns across his lower jaw, and a scar over his right eye. He was wearing a t-shirt with an ornately decorated collar, white pants and a simple pair of black sandals.

Finally the last painting held another human…an abnormally large human, in fact it looked like he even towered over Jinbe, but unlike The Knight of the Sea he was well-proportioned. The man had a long face, ploughed because of the advanced age with many wrinkles around his yellow eyes, a white crescent-shaped mustache and was very muscular, and had many scars running along his chest. The man wore a black bandanna around his head and adorned himself with a white captain's coat which hung loosely from his broad shoulders, and wore light, loose pants tucked inside his large black boots, and a dark blue sash around his waist. Finally, clutched in his large right hand was a massive bisento.

"Brother Fukaboshi where are you taking us? And what's up with all these paintings?" Shirahoshi asked as she looked in awe at the marvelous paintings.

Looking over to his gigantic sister the first son of Neptune grinned. "I'm taking you both to the gallery dear sister it's where many works of art are created here by none other than the Montissard family for generations."

"But why are we heading there?" Naruto questioned.

"You'll find out soon."

Bringing his lower lip out in a mock pout Naruto crossed his arms and continued to follow the shark merman.

Soon enough the three entered a large, lavished room with red silk curtains, royal furniture, and to Naruto and Shirahoshi's surprise and horror was a, extremely tan two-spot octopus merman almost the size of King Neptune. It wasn't his species, but what he was wearing. He was for the better term feminine, with a womanly face and long curly blond hair tied off into a ponytail he could easily be passed off as a woman…except for his flamboyant clothes, which consisted of a baby blue beret, an orange ascot tied around his neck, a neon pink shirt with white roses adorning the silk fabric that was buttoned down to reveal his chest, a royal purple sash, and cherry red sunglasses that covered his eyes.

Noticing the three entering the room the odd merman smiled and bowed towards the three. "Prince Fukaboshi, zet is good to see you arrived on time, ze others were getting zancy." He greeted them with an odd accent.

"Thank you Montague, we honestly can't thank you enough for doing this on such short notice." Fukaboshi replied to the octopus merman.

"Zink nothing of it my prince, for zen generations my family haz painted for ze Royal Family, zet is alwayz a pleasure, especially when zet's a family portrait."

"Paint?" Naruto asked. "I'm sorry mister painter, but if this is a family portrait why am I here?"

"I think that is obvious." Otohime's voice replied as the doors in the room opened, revealing the rest of the Royal Family.

"What's obvious?" The blond asked in confusion.

Giggling in response the queen practically floated over to him, and kneeled down to his eye level. "Naruto we all have been talking, and we all decided to be your new parents." The blonde's heart stopped, and his mouth was agape.

"My…what?"

"Hoh hoh hoh hoh!" Neptune let out his unique laugh. "Naruto my boy, what my wife is trying to say is we would like you to be part of our family. Would you like that?"

His blue eyes widening in complete surprise Naruto turned his head towards Fukahoshi, the eldest of the three brothers who were always kind and respected him, he smiled and nodded his head. He then looked over to Manboshi and Ryuboshi, the two brothers who tussled with him at times but always made him laugh when he was feeling down; they gave him their usual goofy grins and a giant thumbs up. Then looking up at Shirahoshi, the young mermaid who already treated him no differently than the others, eagerly nodding her head up and down waiting his for his answer. And finally the King and Queen, the two who brought him into their home, and treated him like he was one of their own were giving him inviting smiles.

"I…" Naruto began with a flustered look, "I thought I was already part of the family."

Letting out a loud laugh Neptune brought his giant arms out to the sides, "Then come over here, and let it be official my boy!"

Immediately a loud clapping noise echoed throughout the room, darting their eyes they saw Montague with massive anime-styled tears falling from his glasses covered eyes. "Veautiful! Zimply veautiful! Everyone gather together I must zaint this!" Pulling a gigantic easel, white canvas, and painting supplies from behind his back, which Neptune instantly concluded was some sort of Devil Fruit power, he brought his right hand out with his paintbrush clenched in his fist and his thumb pointed up.

Deciding that a celebration would be held later the family gathered together for their first family portrait. Once in position Montague began painting with his gigantic brush, not only was he using his right hand, but he was also using six of his eight octopus legs. The image in front of his cherry red sunglasses coming to life, the texture, the shadowing, the pure raw emotion on the family's faces.

Hours passed in what seemed like minutes, the flamboyant artist was perspiring, his blond hair matted, and his glasses slipped to the bridge of his nose exposing his bright green eyes, but his smile never faded once. Finally letting out a sigh the octopus merman took a final look at the painting and placed his painting materials behind his back. "Zeet is done!" He happily announced.

Turning the easel around to face the family he took in great delight at seeing their satisfied smiles at his latest masterpiece.

At the top of was the humongous king, Neptune smiling with his eye's curved and arms crossed.

At his left and right were Ryuboshi and Manboshi, flexing their muscles which looked rather comically.

In the center was Shirahoshi and Fukaboshi, Fukuboshi in front of the giant mermaid and crossing his arms like his father and smiling. Shirahoshi had her chin on the shark merman, her smiling beaming like a sun.

And below Shirahoshi and Fukaboshi was Otohime with her hands cupped and in front in an elegant pose. Her smile was the brightest of all as she stared out.

And next to her and below all of them was Naruto, who was weeping tears of joy. Even though it looked as if he was wailing, he was immensely happy due to his open vibrant blue eyes. For he now had a new family.

* * *

><p>One more week passed by, and come Monday all the inhabitants of Fishman Island were crowding around the entrance to the island. Today every man and women were glaring at the World Noble beginning to board the ship to the surface, after a month of recovering from his wounds Saint Mjosgard was finally wearing his recently repaired suit with a yarukiman resin bubble around his head so he didn't have to breathe the same air as 'lowly commoners', especially with what he viewed as an inferior race. But it didn't help that his forehead was wrapped in gauze, he was missing a tooth, or that his right hand was completely encased in plaster, preventing anyone from seeing his missing fingers.<p>

"I won't forget this, you stinking fish!" Saint Mjosgard snarled at the collective crowd. "The nerve of it all, the livestock turning on their masters."

"What right does he have to resent us after we saved his life?" One knight of the Royal guard muttered angrily. "We shouldn't send that bastard back, it will only bring danger to the island."

"I know what you me-" The knight next to him started to reply, but was interrupted by Otohime bumping into him.

"Wait, please!" She called out to the World Noble. "It seems that we have much to discuss. I will accompany you to the surface."

"Wait right there Otohime!" Neptune bellowed, following after her. "I cannot allow such a reckless act! If you are truly intent on negotiating with these nobles then I'll go myself." The king continued on in a desperate attempt to stop his wife from doing something that could easily endanger her because of her impulsive behavior.

Aladdin immediately turned to this king in surprise. "Your majesty! Certainly, I can't imagine you of all people getting would get captured by humans, but still…"

"No. It would be meaningless for you to go dear." The queen replied in a serious tone. "It must not be a powerful warrior like you, but a physically frail individual such as myself who goes to the surface and returns safely. That is the only way to prove that it is safe for our people in the world above! That way, we can show the world that our people are not warmongers but fellow sympathetic beings like surface dwellers as well."

Of course she was met with a lot of protests, from the citizens, the children and especially her husband. But Naruto, who was perched on Jinbe's shoulders, was quiet, unnaturally quiet. Jinbe could feel the complex emotions rolling off the tiger shark fishman, between the intense mistrust and hatred he had for the World noble, and the faint hope that his new mother would succeed.

He heard the queen give everyone her parting words and Mjosgard opening his mouth to no doubt object. But the warlord gave the man an intense glare that made him reel back before scoffing about their impudence.

_'All according to plan, you will get your wish soon my queen._' The whale shark fishman thought to himself as he watched his queen depart with the noble.

* * *

><p>Six days. For six days the entire kingdom was tense with worry and anxiety. Many didn't find a wink of sleep, most businesses were closed for the time being, but most importantly our hero was wracked with a bad feeling in his stomach. For six days he was restless, his body constantly in motion. For a good majority of the week he was always helping his new brothers keep Shirahoshi in good spirits.<p>

But after having her constantly braiding flowers into his hair, squishing him with monstrous hugs and on one occasion putting him in a pink frilly dress Naruto knew that he couldn't continue on. He needed answers, and out of every inhabitant in the kingdom there was one person that could provide him the answers he desired.

And that was why he was sitting within the fancy building known as the Mermaid Café. Normally the smell of the various sweets and other delicious foods the café was known for would make his mouth moist and his stomach growl for them. But this visit was for business and not pleasure. So after being guided by one of the mermaids floating on one of the various bubbles to get around he was seated in a nice plush chair. After thanking the mermaid the tiger shark fishman squared his eyes onto the person in front of him.

In front of him was a mermaid sitting on a gigantic crimson couch. Not a regular mermaid mind you but one of the most important mermaids in the kingdom besides the queen and the princess for her fortune telling abilities. She was large, not as large as Shirahoshi, but easily towering over most of the mermaids in the Mermaid cove. She wore a purple blouse with a hood that covered most of her short black hair that was only buttoned in the middle, revealing her flat stomach and ample chest with a string of beads around her waist that stopped in the middle of her short fin shark tail. She had a kind smile that showed off her sharp teeth and blue eyes that resembled shark eyes.

"Ah! It's good to see you again Naruto-kun." The mako shark mermaid greeted him with a red lipstick smile. After being adopted by the Royal Family I feared that I may never see you again." The tiger shark shrugged.

"That's absurd Madame Shyarly I owe you too much of a great debt to just forget about your kindness." Naruto bowed his head towards her. "I wish I came under better circumstances, but-" Feeling a giant, but soft hand on his shoulder he peered up to see he owner of the café smiling at him with her sharp teeth.

"I know you're worried about the queen, we all are Naruto-kun," Shyarly said to him. "Queen Otohime will come back to us safe and sound tomorrow I promise you that."

"Was that a prediction?"

"You already know the answer young one, now head on home I'm sure little Shirahoshi's waiting for her newest oni-chan." Shyarly ruffled Naruto's hair for a brief moment and playfully shooed him from her room. After the tiger shark fishman left the café the mako shark mermaid brought her manicured hands to her head in sudden pain. She harshly gritted her teeth in order to not cry out in horror when she saw in front of her own eyes a shadowy figure with intense crimson eyes standing with twelve other figures with flames in the background.

"What in the world? No…no! He would never do that…There's no way!" She gasped out in denial.

* * *

><p>One more day passed and like every prediction Madame Shirley made in her entire life came true once again. In a grand manner Otohime arrived on the ship she left on and through the tearful cries of her people the queen revealed to them a piece of paper signed by the Tenryuubito and the Gorosei themselves.<p>

But on that day a tall slim build Japanese bullhead fishman with a prominent hunch that put his head on equal level with his shoulders, cat-like whiskers wearing a yellow fedora wit a purple band covering his black hair that was rounded into dreadlocks. He was wearing a broadly red and white horizontal-striped shirt under specialized green overalls for his four lanky legs.

"The Tamatebako?" He asked in glee as he revealed his sharp teeth.

"That's right Cap'n Vander Decken!" An unremarkable fishman replied. "A month's worth of waiting finally paid off, the guard that we paid off has confirmed that it's hidden somewhere in the palace."

"And it can cause anyone to age?"

"That's what our Intel says!" Another unremarkable fishman boasted.

"Could it, say," Vander Decken gave them a creepy face, and brought his right arm to waist level. "Turn a teensy little brat…into a fully grown, sexy lady?"

"I don't doubt it for a second." The first one nodded at the Captain of The Flying Pirates.

Letting out a laugh of glee the extremely odd-looking fishman began to prance around in some sort of victory dance. "That's it folks!" He proclaimed. "Our little problem is solved! With that box, I can marry Princess Shirahoshi right away I know it!" Pointing at a random crew member he barked out the order. "Steal me that Tamatebako right away!"

"Captain, the palace is impenetrable. But if you were to marry Shirahoshi first you would be able to get into the palace no problem, right?"

Gaining a shocked look Vander Decken reeled back before laughing a unique laugh. "Bahohoh! Man, you guys are smart! I'm lucky to have guys like you!" Placing his freakishly right webbed hand on his chin smiled about his future. "Yes, give that little cutie-patotie ten or twenty more years she'd grow into a proper beauty."

"She'll grow even more gigantic, though." One of the crew members deadpanned.

"So what! She's big-boned all right! I ain't got nothin' against large ladies! Besides, the ole saying the bigger the better is singing quite true for this situation!" The Captain spat back at him. "And once I'm Shirahoshi's husband…it will finally be mine! The power and wealth of the Royal Family my clan has sought after for generations!" Pulling a pen and some paper he then proclaimed, "All right! Let's start with the wedding invitations! On the double men!"

"Aren't you supposed to propose first, Captain Decken!" The crew screamed out in response before he could even start.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in the Gyoncord Plaza Queen Otohime was once again preaching to her people for what was hopefully the final time. Standing on the stage that she usually preached at she held up the paper high above her head signed by the World Nobles and the Gorosei.<p>

"The word of the World Nobles and the Gorosei hold great sway…even at the Reverie of The Council of Kings!" She began her speech with noticeable relief in her voice. "And this is an official letter from them. This is what it says. 'For the sake of improving relations between humans and fishmen we support the proposal of the attached petition.' In other words if we gather enough signatures to submit at the next Reverie, then this piece of paper, will grant our proposal to put strength to be realistically put into action! Our relocation to the surface is no mere dream!"

Her words that were always worth their weight in gold stunned the residents of Fishman Island speechless. The Tenryuubito, possibly the most evil human beings in existence with the help of the Gorosei, though many never heard of them granted their support to their queen's long awaited proposal. In all honesty none of them knew what to think.

Clearing her throat Otohime finished off her speech that would wither make or break all her efforts at the coexistence with mankind. "All that we need now is to gather more signatures. I can only wait for all of you to make your decisions. And I beg of you to reach out for a life of harmony for a life on the surface, where we can achieve true peace!"

For several long seconds no one dared to move, time just seemed to stall, waiting for the proper response to a seven year long struggle. Otohime's smile began to fade slowly. Then it was finally broken when several children rushed to the stage and deposited their slips of paper into the crate that Otohime always had with her when she made her speeches. And almost immediately the gathered merfolk at her rally began handing in their own forms.

The goldfish mermaid was shocked. Touched by what the kindness of a few children can bring. Overjoyed that her ideal may one day soon be achieved!

Soon the small crate began overflowing with papers. And to Otohime's joy the Minister of the Right; a seahorse merman, her bodyguard and loyal supporter to her cause came floating to her rescue with a gigantic wicker basket in his sturdy hands. Seeing Otomime literally shedding tears of joy he gave her a thoughtful smile.

"Your majesty I see you are overcome by emotion. Please, take a seat and rest." Raising his arms in immense joy the merman bellowed to the people. "Come, everyone! This is the place to show your support to our queen's passionate endeavor!"

So overcome with emotion Otohime had to be escorted by the Minister of the Left and another guard to the castle, crying tears of joy all the way. And when she arrived at the palace she was bombarded by her family, Neptune with tears in his eyes and their biological children gave her the greatest and most loving hug that she ever received in her entire life. Even Naruto, who out of all of them had the best reason to oppose everything she worked for couldn't help but feel immense happiness for her accomplishment.

Little did they know that their happiness would be shattered by the glaring eyes spying on the happy family.

* * *

><p>For days, the plaza was filled from across the land, eager to submit their signatures for Otohime's cause. But for the goldfish mermaid she was about to have a serious discussion with the oldest male siblings in her family.<p>

"It was that moment," She began, "that I found the courage and assurance in myself that this country can truly change."

"That moment?" Fukaboshi asked.

"Yes, that day, when the Sea Kings peered into the island." Otohime clarified for them.

"Ah, yes! That certainly was a surprise!" Manboshi chirped up.

"It was Shirahoshi who called them, you know."

"Eh?"

Seeing their shocked faces the queen let out a soft giggle before reaching her right hand out to caress a passing fish, "We merfolk have the ability to understand the hearts of the ocean's fish, and to communicate with them, yes? But no mermaid has been able to communicate with those gigantic Sea Kings. That is beyond even your father, Neptune…the only person on this island able to communicate with whales. However, according to the records of the Royal Family…Once in every few centuries, a mermaid is born with the ability to understand and communicate even with the mighty Sea Kings."

"A mermaid who is able…to speak with Sea Kings." Fukaboshi crossed his arms over his barrel chest and reflected on what his mother was saying to them, while his other two brothers shouted in awe.

"And you're saying that's Shirahoshi mother?" Asked the shocked Manboshi.

"Wow! Amazing! I'd love to be able to on a Sea King's back on day!" Followed Ryuboshi.

"The same can be said for Naruto." Otohime continued to say, "Just like Shirahoshi every few hundred years a fishman is born with a great power within him. But unlike your sister who can communicate with Sea Kings, Naruto has the raw power of a Sea King."

"Raw power of a Sea King!" Manboshi's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he heard that.

"That is correct. Not only does he have their strength, anger and ferocity, but also a powerful alpha aura that would make even the most ferocious creatures submit to him. According to legend that is these two will meet a person to direct them onto the right path, and once the time came they would combine their powers to change the world."

"Our little Naruto and Shirahoshi changing the world!" Ryuboshi squeaked out in surprise. "Then maybe it'll help what you're trying to do, mother."

"I feel certain of it." Otohime smiled at them. "The power of love can save the lives of thousands if the will is strong enough. However is used wrongly, the power that those two hold is great enough to sink the world beneath the tides. They aren't aware of their abilities, and if anything were to happen to send the two of them into a panic or anger, like what you three saw that day, it is possible that in their current states, that they would both go on a mighty rampage."

"If they did that, then Fishman Island would be completely destroyed! What should we do, mother?" Ryuboshi asked.

"For the moment, I will do everything in my power to ensure that never happens. But I ask that you, my sons, grow to become fine warriors. And use that strength to protect them with your lives!"

"Of course mother! We will not fail you!" the three mermen bellowed out their promise.

But then on that exact same day, it happened. Suddenly, and without warning. The tens of thousands signatures caught fire. The entire plaza was in chaos, soldiers were frantically trying to save every piece of paper they could. Otohime, who brought her children to witness the fruits of her labor, was calling out for water.

A loud bang soon echoed throughout the area, several of the guards all too familiar with the sound of gun fire looked towards the source, for the shooter and if anyone was hit. The Minister of the Right brought is eyes towards the queen, to his horror he saw her clutching her bleeding chest and collapse to the ground. "Queen Otohime has been shot!"

"Where's the shooter! Who was it!" Aladdin barked out.

"There's a sniper lurking in the vicinity! Protect the Royal Family at all costs!" Jinbe barked out orders to several knights that were standing by him.

"Mother!" Fukuboshi yelled in shock. His brother's followed with similar shouts.

Shirahoshi was dead silent. Her eyes wide agape and her mouth frozen, her young pre-adolescnet mind still trying to wrap what has just occurred.

As the Minister of the Right cradled his queen in his arms and barking for a medic, Naruto was the first to reach her wounded body. His blue eyes already spilling tears down his face and his hands clutching her right hand that was stained with her freshly spilled blood. Even as his siblings crowded around her.

"Mother!" yelled the brothers save for Naruto, who still remained silent as his adoptive younger sister.

Otohime's eye's were half shut, as she drew deep breaths to help sustain her lungs.

"Queen Otohime!" Yelled out the civilian bystanders.

As Shirahoshi remained rooted, catatonic. A figure walked up to her. "Well well well, isn't this quite a ruckus." The figure, Vander Decken, raised his right hand, and placed it on Shirahoshi's lower left arm. "Quite a terrible predicament. Don'tcha agree? Princess?"

A nearby guard spotted Decken and raised his pistol. "Who are you! Stay away from the princess scum!" He fired, but missed as the four legged fishman scampered away.

"Mother are you alright?" Wailed the oarfish merman.

"We'll get you to a hospital in no time! Hang in there!" Assured Manboshi.

Fukuboshi was different thoughts as he released a low threatening growl. "Who could have done this!" And his face contorted to one of anger and fury, his teeth bared. "I'll make them pay! I'll make them pay!"

Beside the slowly dying queen, the adoptive son of the Royal Family was slowly breathing in an out. His teeth were clenched and bared, and although his hair covered his eye's, they were slowly being covered by a shade of red. Yet he did not clench his mother's hand tighter, despite some veins bulging within his arms.

Yet Otohime raised her hands, one onto Fukuboshi's trident, the other to cup Naruto's cheek.

"Stay by my side…my angels…and please wipe those horrid looks off your faces…"

"Your Majesty…You need treatment!"

"I let my guard down…I was just…so happy…to finally have all those signatures…I did not…" She gave a wheeze. "Fukuboshi…Naruto…if there is anyone who…should be bitter…it should be me, not you…"

Yet despite her plea, Naruto could not listen to her, her voice becoming faded. He did not know it, but his slowly rising fury was clouding him. He did not listen to his two brother's wails, but through his hair he saw his sister.

The same sister who annoyed him on hours end with creating flower crown, hugs, and giggles…About to burst in agonizing tears.

"M-Mother…" Somehow the blonde tiger shark could hear her, even if his fury distorting his hearing, and as if on que, his hearing slowly began to return to him. Manboshi and Ryuboshi turned towards her, then back to Naruto's slowly reddening eyes and bulging veins and saw that she was about to begin to lament, and remembered.

"If anything were to happen to send the two of them into a panic or anger, like what you three saw that day, it is possible that in their current states, that they would both go on a mighty rampage."

And Shirahoshi and Naruto screamed. But the latter's sounded more like a roar filled with sorrow.

"Shirahoshi! Naruto! Wait!"

But suddenly their screams cut short, Shirahoshi's tear filled eye's slowly reopening and Naruto's widening in shock.

Two of his adopted brothers…they were…with tears clouding their vision and runny noses…

"AKKAMAMBO! AKKAMAMBO! LOOK LOOK NARUTO! EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT! AKKAMAMBO AKKAMAMBO! HEY HEY SHIRAHOSHI EVERYTHING'S AS COOL AS NIGHT! AKKAMAMBO~! IT'LL BE OKAY! EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT WHEN YOU MAMBO-DANCE OH YEAH~!" Shouted Manboshi at the top of his lungs, dancing and singing, even as he continued to shed his tears.

"AHHHH, WHAT FUN SUCH FUN! NOTHING CAN BE WRONG! NARUTO SHIRAHOSHI LET US SING THIS SONG! THE FOUR OF US ARE ALWAYS WITH YOU BOTH LA-TI-DO!"

"Young princes!" Shouted the Minister of the Left. "What on earth you-"

Shirahoshi stopped her tears, and Naruto brushed his hair back, revealing his blue and red eyes. Not reddened by the power of the Sea King within but with tears. His mouth agape. His much bigger sister was clamped shut.

"Someone stop the princes! The trauma has made them gone mad!" Yelled the Minister of the Right, as knights and guards gathered around and tried to hold them down.

"WATCH ON MOTHER! EVERYTHING WILL BE ALRIGHT!" People couldn't tell if Manboshi was shouting, more like wailing even as his visage stilled contained that strained smile.

"SIBLINGS STICK TOGETHER THROUGH AND THROUGH! TO PROTECT THAT WE DO LA-TI-DO!" Ryuboshi was having as much as a hard time as his fellow brother, looking up in order to avoid looking at the slowly growing pool of blood at his mother's side.

Shirahoshi continued to sob, not on the level as before. She gazed in amazement at her brothers.

"You…two…you are…" Muttered the blond tiger shark as tears wept from his own eyes. _'How…can such people contain such great strength, even in a situation such as this?'_

Fukuboshi had similar thoughts, as he silently sobbed, yet his gaze held nothing but the highest of admiration towards his brothers.

"Stop this at once! Can't you see the condition her Majesty is in."

And Naruto gazed down and gasped. His adoptive mother, the Queen of Ryugyu Kingdom…was giving the most happiest smile he has ever seen her bear. Naruto saw Otohime's green eyes staring into his blue ones, a smile on her face even though she was so wracked with pain. Gently squeezing his hand within hers as if to tell him not to worry he saw the life leave her eyes.

"No…no, not again. Please God not her. Anyone…anyone but her…" He whispered out in denial. Otohime reopened her eyes, and placed two fingers and lips and gave a kiss, then placed those fingers onto Naruto's own as he gasped. She gave another smile. Naruto could hear his older brother. Claiming how they will all grow up to become strong warriors, recollect the signatures, and protect Shirahoshi with their lives.

The tiger shark couldn't agree more.

"We are…so close!" Otohime whispered. "I know…that all of you…can reach the light of the sun!"

All of the bystanders and pedestrians began to weep, as did the Ministers. But not the Royal family, who connected their fingers.

"THEY KILLED HER!" He heard a voice echo over the plaza. Looking upwards Naruto saw none other than Hody Jones, holding by the neck in his powerful right hand was a _human_. "A HUMAN KILLED OUR QUEEN!"

Xxx

One the day of Queen Otohime's funeral, when everyone thought that things couldn't get any worse, it unfortunately did. A letter was sent to Shirahoshi, not by mail, or even a delivery fish, no it flew straight through the castle walls. When the princess showed it to Neptune, it was discovered to be a love letter of all things! Seeing that it was from Vander Decken, Neptune forbade the children from attending his wife's funeral for the fear of another assassination attempt.

That was why they were standing in front of a camera dressed in black funeral tuxedos. Prince Fukaboshi being the most charismatic of the siblings giving his speech about inheriting his mother's will.

"Before she died, my mother said that the real 'sun' is within sight. Maybe our hearts won't make it in time for the Reverie due in two years. But there's another one in six, and another in ten years. We decided that we will inherit our mother's will, even if it takes up our whole lifetime." Pausing for a bit the first son let his words sink in to the mourners watching the broadcast. "Some of you probably changed their minds because of this incident. We will destroy the remaining signatures! We will start again, from scratch. And one day…when everybody's hearts are healed let's dream of the 'sun' once again!"

It would be later in the day when Jinbe met with Naruto. As the Shichibukai peered down at the tiger shark fishman who held the power of the Sea King, he saw the boy's eyes. No longer were they the bright and shining blue orbs that he remembered, they were the eyes of a broken man who lost everything. And Jinbe couldn't help but feel for him, not only did he lose his real parents at a young age, but after enduring the harsh reality of the Fishman District, being adopted by the Royal Family and then losing the person who treated him no differently than her own children…honestly Jinbe didn't want to see anyone who looked good after what he experienced.

"Boss Jinbe…I have a favor to ask you." Naruto whispered out. Looking straight at the whale shark fishman he clenched his fists. "I ask…no I beg you to take me as your pupil."

Not at all surprised at the request the former Captain of the Sun Pirates kept his stoic features and looked down at the boy.

"Are you sure Naruto-kun? If I were to take you as a pupil you will be thrust head long into the ugly truth of the world, whatever innocence you have now will be taken from you. Destroyed. I will take you, but I will demand one-hundred percent commitment from you if you are to master the ways of Fishman Karate, but the question is are you ready for this?" The tiger shark hid his eyes behind his hair as he held his head down.

"My innocence was destroyed years ago and I don't care what happens to me now." Naruto replied. "A madman has targeted my sister…I can't protect her…I can't protect anyone as I am now. I'm ready for anything you throw at me. So please…" He raised it back up, determined eye's blazing. Jinbe nodded.

"Then so be it."

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Finally! Thank God this chapter is over with.<p>

Pvt. Leaf Ranger: Dude was it really that bad?

Armageddon: Damn right it was! I'm all for realism and bringing about tragedies, but this chapter, which I thought would take maybe a few days at most took a week and a half.

Pvt. Gold: Well I see that the writing style differs from usual, did you get a beta reader?

Lt. RasenganFin: Pfft. Armageddon getting a beta? He has never had one in the entire existence of being an author.

Armageddon: Actually I did get one.

Everyone: Say what!

Armageddon: *clears his throat* It's true everyone I would like to personally thank Zaru for putting up with me and helping me out with this chapter...and future ones to come. Now normally I spell check my stuff out my myself, you know the usual errors, but this story is the _first_ of its kind...and to tell the truth I honestly couldn't write out Ryuboshi and Manboshi doing that dance of theirs, but only because there was no way I could properly describe how...hell even now I cannot express how I feel about it.

Pvt. Liquor: Uhh that's good and all, but there are already One Piece and Naruto crossovers.

Sgt. Shadowtrayster: *Whacks him over the head, leaving an anime-style knot on his noggin* Of course there are crossovers in that department, but what he is saying is that this is the FIRST where Naruto is a fucking fishman!

Pvt. Fox: That's right, hell so far twenty people are impressed by it.

Armageddon: And I hope to keep it that way! From here on out this story will be completely original, there will be parts where he will participate in the canon arcs, but for the most part it will be original. That includes attacks, the crew members that Agurra of the Darkness and I have agreed upon, the ship, personal vendetta's, character deaths...well ones that I see fit, and many other things you guys will undoubtedly like. So enjoy because I'm going to sleep!

Pvt. VFSNAKE: Hold it! You're forgetting the story shout out!

Armageddon:...oh right. Well folks I haven't had much time to read some stories lately, heak I still need to finish up the Orc King by R. A. Salvatore so I can finally read the Neverwinter book that just came out. So umm aww hell read The Laughing Fox by Lord Dragon Claw, because it's the first to my knowledge to have Naruto being raised by my favorite Batman villain the Joker.


	3. The First Years

I don't own Naruto or One Piece. Seriously folks the only thing I own on this particular day is my Black Mask costume.

"Talk" Talking

'_Think_' Thinking

* * *

><p>It was the very next day Jinbe introduced Naruto to the pride of Fishman Island. It wasn't Coral Hill, the Gyoverly Hills, or even Water Wheel Town. No, it was the Fishman Karate Dojo one of the most revered and respected places that taught the soldiers of Neptune's military, Jinbe, the legendary Fisher Tiger, and even the king himself.<p>

The entire outside structure was intimidating it was made out of red coral while the gigantic doors that blocked them from entering were made out of pure iron. Undaunted by the appearance Jinbe pounded on the iron doors, making an eerie gonging noise that no doubt alerted every person within the dojo. Almost immediately the doors were pulled open by two fifty foot tall blue whale fishmen, and with respectful bows they granted them inside the large building.

Naruto fully expected to find the place full of broken posts, destroyed walls, and the broken and battered bodies of student and teachers alike. To his surprise however everything in the dojo was intact, clean, and peaceful. As the two fishmen entered the gigantic dojo the blond immediately took in the professional feel of the place, from the various fish and to his surprise mermen meditating in the zen gardens, to the sound of the students shouting out at they went through their katas.

"Magnificent isn't it?" Jinbe gestured his right hand at the dojo. "This entire area is just for the beginners, when you advance in rank you'll get to see more of this entire place until you reach a certain level."

"What happens when I reach a certain level?" Naruto asked in sincere curiosity.

"That depends. My former crew mate Kuroobi reached level forty before leaving the dojo. Most of the palace guards are either level twenty-five or thirty practitioners before they leave, honestly Naruto-kun it depends on the person's will to continue in this place."

"Then what level are you Boss?"

"I am level a level ninety practitioner Naruto-kun." The whale shark fishman answered. "I have high expectations for you to one day surpass me, so train hard okay?"

"You're not staying?" Naruto asked in a slightly surprised tone. "I thought you would have an active hand in my training."

"And I will my pupil. But you have to understand that my duties will force me to leave the island for extended periods of time, weather it is guarding nations in times of war to keeping pirates in check."

"Will you ever take me with you on one of your assignments?"

"When I feel that you're ready Naruto-kun." Jinbe gave his student his toothy smile before ruffling his hair up. "But don't worry too much about it; I have a feeling that you'll travel with me much sooner than later."

After the pep talk the two arrived at what the blond would the registering station, the Shichibukai signed his student into the beginner's class. After wishing his student luck and promising him that he would visit him, and telling him to visit the family as much as he could the whale shark fishman left Naruto into the care of his teachers.

After being given a white gi with a matching white sash the tiger shark fishman guided into a room filled with nine other students, and their teacher.

While the students were of the various species of fish, the teacher…he was something else. He was an extremely tall puffer fish fishman, had small gray round eyes, sharp jagged teeth, and long orange hair that reached into his back with some pinned up at the top. He had six thick green stripes on his round face. Attire-wise, he wore a black gi and sash with white training tape wrapped around his forearms and hands.

"Finally our last student has arrived. Now we can finally begin." The fishman's watery voice echoed throughout the room, sending shivers down the student's spines. "Students I am Suikazan Fuguki, one of the many instructors of this dojo. Here you will learn a number of devastating moves for both land and sea combat, water manipulation, and personal adaptation for your fins, teeth, and so on.

"Now I'm not going to lie, this will probably be the harshest experience you will ever face in your entire young lives. And I fully expect more than half of you to drop out. But for those who stay I will warn you that I will make you bleed, sweat, cry, and one more than one occasion break your bones. You will come to hate me, but in the end you all will thank me." After finishing his speech Fuguki leveled his gaze at his new students, many of them were shaking in their gi's, but the blond tiger shark was meeting his gaze with the fire of determination blazing in his blue eyes.

_'Well lookie here the adopted brat of the Royal Family has some fire in his eyes. We'll see how long that lasts.' _The puffer fish fishman thought to himself before pointing at the biggest student in the room. He was twice Naruto's age and several feet taller as well. But unlike the new meat he had a killer look in his green eyes that went along with the several scars running along his black upper body and white under belly. "You there! What is your name!"

"Skorca sir!" The killer whale fishman introduced himself.

"I want you and…" He steeled his gaze at Naruto and gave a toothy smirk. "the new arrival to spar against each other so I can see what I have to work with, the rest will follow soon after."

The two fishmen nodded at their teacher and after the remaining students cleared the way for the upcoming fight. Naruto leveled his eyes at the killer whale that stood several feet taller than him; his opponent bared his sharp teeth as some sort of threatening gesture, the blond only glared as he tightened his fists.

Fuguki raised his right arm, and cut it downward. "Fight!" He barked at them.

Being the smaller of the two Naruto immediately sped at the killer whale fishman; Skorka immediately tensed the muscles in his right arm and took a swing. Fully expecting that maneuver the blond hopped to the left and using his previous experiences in the pits jumped at his opponents exposed opening, reaching his arm back he delivered a devastating punch to Skorka's ribs. The killer whale fishman gritted his teeth in pain, but undeterred he immediately spun on his left heel, and despite his giant size he proved to be pretty fast as he delivered a spinning back fist onto the back of Naruto's head.

His eyes opening in surprise Naruto found himself flying forward, skipping off the tatami mats three times before hitting face first into the solid coral wall. A loud cracking sound caused the students to cringe as they heard the cartilage in the tiger shark fishman's nose break, but after gnashing his teeth together the tiger shark fishman immediately fell onto his feet, turned around and sprinted towards his opponent. Skorka seeing this immediately threw a wild haymaker, but to his and everyone else's surprise Naruto skidded under the punch, and flew in-between his legs, not wasting a single movement he hit the coral wall feet first and used the friction to rebound off the wall and fly at his opponents back. The blond extended his fists and hit Skorka right in the kidneys, as his opponent cried out in sudden shock and pain, Naruto bent his knees, let his feet hit the floor and jumped straight into the air. For the finishing move he somersaulted once and began descending downwards, his momentum building up the tiger shark somersaulted two more times before bringing his right leg out, and delivered a devastating axe-kick to Skorka's bald head.

The killer whale fishman felt nothing but his brain boggling inside his skull, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, and fell forward unconscious to the world. Fuguki raised an eyebrow to suppress the shock he felt towards the match he looked over his panting student. The adopted son of Neptune and Otohime looked to be a little out of breath, he had some perspiration running down his face, but he didn't seem to feel the blood running down his broken nose that was now coating the front a nice crimson color.

"Impressive boy." The puffer fish fishman nodded at him. "I never expected a green horn to pull off combination moves like that on his first day."

"This isn't my first fight Fuguki-sensei, especially against someone bigger than me." Naruto responded before he brought his right hand to his nose. Wincing a bit he brought his thumb and index finger on the opposite ends of his nose respectfully, and a loud crack was heard as he set the broken ends back into place. "I fought _a lot_ until I was adopted; I just hope that I showed you that I still got the stuff for the school."

"Your form is sloppy, you have a lot of wasted movements, and you seem to be the bull headed type." Fuguki listed off the obvious faults Naruto had. "But you have decent enough reflexes, an unorthodox way of fighting, and most importantly fighting experience. I think you'll fit right in boy." The puffer fish fishman smirked.

* * *

><p>One month later Naruto learned firsthand that the rumors of the dojo were no exaggeration. The training was brutal to the core, during what he would call 'Hell Month' they woke them up at three in the morning and quite literally exercised them into the ground. Each day they were forced to lift backbreaking weights ten times their weight, several kata exercises one-thousand times each, eat something that tasted like cardboard but was claimed to be 'healthy' for them and finally an intense sparring session with one of the several instructors.<p>

That very month they weeded half of them out, and in the following months all that were left were none other than Naruto and Skorka. However instead of a friendly rivalry these two were more or less bitter enemies, after the blond defeated the killer whale fishman, he inadvertently hurt his pride and ensured a bitterness that wouldn't end until one of them died.

Speaking of which the two were in another fierce sparring match. With Fuguki standing in the background, his sharp eyes darted back and forth as his two final students exchanged punches back and forth with each other. The battle-scarred whale shark fishman let out a growl as he punched his opponent in the chest, sending him flying straight across the room and straight into the wall. The long-haired fishman winced a little bit as the blond fell to the floor face first, but like always he somehow got to his feet and began to run at his opponent.

"That is enough!" He barked out, immediately stopping the two in mid-punch. Marching over the giant fishman placed his hands on their shoulders and nodded in what they assumed was satisfaction. "You two have exceeded my expectations, and have proved yourselves to be the best out of the eight weaklings who bailed." Giving them a sharp and extremely rare smile he reached into his gi and slapped a patch that had the number one on the front of their gi's. "Welcome to the school boys."

Giving Fuguki a grateful smile Naruto bowed in gratefulness and respect. "Thank you Fuguki-sensei, I won't let you down." Skorka narrowed his eyes and bowed soon after in thanks to his teacher.

"We will see about that boy, it only gets harder from here." Fuguki's voice spoke nothing but the truth. "Come back tomorrow boys, we will turn you both into fighters yet."

* * *

><p>The next day Naruto found himself standing within a group of nearly twenty students within one of the many rooms within the dojo. His eyes staring straight ahead at one of the instructors as he showed them the Ten Tile Punch with a board look on his face. Normally he would have paid great attention to the lesson, but his mind was occupied with his sad reunion with his family. Normally such an achievement of surviving Hell Month would have been met with great joy and celebration, but with Otohime's assassination still fresh in everyone's mind and Shirahoshi being targeted by a dangerous pedophile the blond honestly wasn't expecting a very happy place when he got there.<p>

And sure enough when he walked through the doors the mood was pretty somber. Neptune was a shadow of his former self, no longer the jolly king and second father was still heartbroken from losing the love of his life and from what the various staff members were saying would never take another for as long as he lived. Ryuboshi and Manboshi had masks of false happiness that were just sickening to look at. Fukaboshi, he'd seen no fin or hair of him, the merman that he viewed as his eldest brother simply disappeared. And finally to Naruto's ever growing anger at the unfairness that befell his adopted family, Shirahoshi, the mermaid that always made him feel better was nearly killed by the pirate Vander Decken. Apparently she politely declined the eighth generation pirate Captain which apparently threw him into a homicidal rage-which he claimed in one of his letters that 'If he couldn't have Shirahoshi, no one would!', and with great reluctance she was forced to stay inside the Hard-Shell Tower where Neptune once locked himself in to quell his killing urges after Otohime was murdered until the man was captured and dealt with.

After being denied access due to the fear that a weapon would fly at the tower at any second, Naruto went straight to his room, stayed there until morning, and left without even saying a goodbye to anyone.

"Uzumaki!" An irritated voice broke Naruto out of his inner thoughts to meet face-to-face with the instructor Umino Iruka, a bottlenose dolphin fishman glaring straight at him. "For the third time what is the proper technique for maximizing the damage of the Ten Tile Punch."

"I'm sorry Iruka-sensei, umm the proper technique is to visualize your target and with proper rotation of the elbow and fist your strike would be maximized to the fullest extent?" Naruto answered the question to the best of his ability.

"Not exactly Naruto." Snapping his fingers the wall across the students opened up to reveal an extremely long table with exactly one-hundred tiles securely fastened on it. "You see students the proper rotation of the elbow is a factor, but your footwork is very important when delivering a punch, the stronger your stance the more you'll be able to load a punch." Holding his right hand up to show them the scar-nosed fishman continued. "I am right-handed, when I throw a left hook I step forward with my left, pivot with my right, rotate my right shoulder then start delivering my punch, at the last second before making contact I turn my fist inward and turn my knuckles upward so that my index and middle fingers are in the area making contact."

Making sure his students were paying full attention Iruka proceeded to demonstrate the proper technique, and punched the row of one-hundred tiles. His fist broke through the first three tiles, and what could only be described as massive shock wave of kinetic energy destroyed the remaining ninety-seven tiles. Seeing his students with their jaws unhinged in awe the brown-haired teacher scratched is nose, and chuckled. "Now that I wowed you, let's get started on the Ten Tile Punch then we will work our way upwards okay?"

Because of his last name Naruto had to wait his turn to try his hand in breaking the ten tiles. Now normally this would irritate him, but this time he was glad to be the last to take a try. The blond observed the technique of the levels above him, he saw their footwork, the way they rotated their shoulders, and the point of impact where their fists hit the tiles. He also viewed the rookie students, mainly the level two through fives, and saw what not to do which involved them either breaking or bruising their fists-minus that rat bastard Skorka of course, he was just a monster with brute strength on his side.

Then his turn came and a small bit of nervousness crept into his throat, but it didn't stop him from walking on over to the table with ten tiles secured on it. Naruto took several deep breaths and slowly visualized the target, zeroing in he breathed out one more time, raised his right fist and using punched at the tiles. "Miss!" He heard someone cough out, causing him to unfortunately miss his intended target, causing his right knuckle to scrape against the side of the stone, tearing the skin open.

Immediately a good majority or the class, mainly the younger and immature ones to burst out laughing. But for Naruto's sake the older ones would only wince in sympathy as they cradled their knuckles, except for Skorka who gave him a vicious toothy grin.

Like a switch flicking the lights on Naruto growled angrily at the killer whale fishman. With his hair overshadowing his eyes, no one saw his eyes bleeding into the crimson color of Sea King Mode. He saw Iruka flapping his lips, but no words were reaching though to him, so he did the only logical thing that came to mind. He attempted to punch the tiles again, and this time he succeeded, with his right arm expanding with muscle and adrenaline he punched not only through the ten tiles, but through the coral wall as well.

Dead silence filled the room as the students looked on in pure shock, but unlike them Iruka walked up to his panting student and placed his right hand on Naruto's shaking right shoulder. When the blond looked up he gave the bottlenose dolphin fishman a fake smile and a thumbs up. "Looks like I passed, huh Iruka-sensei?"

"Yes you did Naruto, yes you did."

* * *

><p>Two years later Naruto found himself standing in front of Fuguki. The puffer fish fishman looked down at the ten year old and noted that the boy he left in Iruka's capable hands had changed a good deal. Other than being an inch taller, and more sturdy-looking, he had a more serious deposition and had his fists wrapped in training tape. "Do you know why you're here Uzumaki?" he asked.<p>

"I'm afraid I don't Fuguki-sensei." Naruto politely answered.

"It because I wish to give you this." With years of experience Fuguki lashed his right arm out, tore his patch that had the number nine on it, and slapped on a patch that had the number ten on it. "You have progressed much this year, but that wasn't the reason I called you here boy." Seeing the blond raise an eyebrow he continued. "Unfortunately this is where you part ways with the school for now, King Neptune has asked for your presence."

"What does my father want?" The blond asked with Neptune's role as his dad sounding foreign to him.

"That is not my business boy, but he says it's very important. Now get out of here."

After reluctantly leaving the dojo Naruto found himself inside the castle nearly an hour later, standing right in front of Neptune and Jinbe. And just like a year before nothing had changed, what used to be a place of joy and happiness, was just nothing more than an empty place of mourning. Sure the staff was smiling and hard at work, but it was a farce, a sickening farce. There was no happiness here and he suspected that there will never be any ever again.

"Naruto, my son, do you know why I called you here?" Neptune asked.

"I'm afraid I don't father."

"That's because I requested it Naruto-kun." Jinbe answered for his king. Seeing the young tiger shark fishman look at him in confusion the newest member of the Shuchibukai explained himself. "I know what you're thinking, 'Why is Boss Jinbe interrupting my time in the dojo?'. Well I'll have you know that you need to see the world, the real world and all the people in it, so for the next month you will be accompanying me to the surface."

Instead of seeing the boy jump for joy about going to the surface like Otohime once did, Naruto only gave the whale shark fishman a deadpan look. "Sorry Boss, but I'm afraid I will have to decli-" Seeing Jinbe's eyes narrow at him caused the blond to stop dead in his tracks at his chilling gaze, and then he suddenly remembered what Jinbe said to him a year ago, the only way to protect everyone he held dear was to face everything above and below the sea. "…never mind I'm ready when you are."

"We leave tomorrow; I suggest that you settle your affairs before you leave."

After bidding Jinbe farewell Naruto left the throne room without a second thought leaving the two alone. "He's changed Jinbe. I'm beginning to worry about him being a destroyer rather than a savior."

"Do not worry my King. Naruto is still young, and he still knows right from wrong. Just give him some time."

"He was given two years, I thought that putting all his anger towards training he would finally come around."

Looking towards Neptune, Jinbe kept his stoic gaze on him. "The boy has been through much, just rely on me, Otohime's faith in him will not be in vain."

While the adults were left talking Naruto found himself doing what Jinbe told him to do. He figured that after a year he could see Shirahoshi again, and that was why he was standing in front of the Hard-Shell Tower. The guards, however, weren't cooperating with his request to see her.

"Come on let me in!" Naruto barked out at the two.

"I'm sorry Prince-"

"For the last time I'm not a prince!" The blond rebutted him. "I'm not in line for the crown, I'm not of royal blood, I'm just some kid the Royal Family brought into their home."

"That is not helping your case child." The second one deadpanned.

"I know that…but please I need to see Shirahoshi. It's been over a year since we even talked, much less seen each other. I will be leaving tomorrow for an entire month and when I get back I'm planning on going back to the dojo. I only want a half hour, nothing more, nothing less."

"We said no!" The second guard snapped at him.

Placing his webbed hand on his colleagues shoulder the first guard did his best to stop the situation from escalating. "Naruto I know you miss her, we all do. But please you must understand that it is still far too dangerous to let her have visitors, it's just as dangerous delivering her meals." Seeing the crestfallen look the blond was giving him the first guard sighed and said this to him. "Tell you what, when you reach level forty in the Fishman Karate Dojo, then and only then will we in good faith let you in. We'll even discuss it with King Neptune when he comes by later today."

The look in his eyes showed that it was an outrageous offer. Because he would more than likely be in his teens before he could see her again, so after clenching his fists hard enough to make his knuckles pop, he sighed in defeat and accepted the deal…for now.

* * *

><p>The very next day Naruto boarded a ship coated with the Yarukiman resin Saint Mjosgard used upon leaving Fishman Island. It was…an experience for Naruto who never stepped foot off the place of his birth, that was a good sign for Jinbe seeing his awed and terrified expressions at the giant beasts that passed by the ship. Then when they actually reached the surface the boy nearly had a heart attack when he felt the heat, the gentle sea breeze, and seeing the real sun for the first time.<p>

But then when the days dragged on the poor boy spend most of the time hanging over the side of the ship puking his guts out. Thankfully for him at least it only lasted a week before he got his sea legs, but unfortunately for most of the crew, boredom did not suit Naruto at all. For the remaining week the blond continued to train his body with a disturbingly amount of pushups, situps, squats, and any other exercise he could come up with.

"Naruto-kun normally I would be proud that you're continuing to train, but you need to let your body rest." Jinbe said to his student as he watched him perform his one-thousandth situp, and it looked like he still had a shockingly amount of energy to spare.

"I'm sorry boss but I can't stop, to get to the next level I'm supposed to be able to lift nearly eight-hundred pounds twenty times."

"And it's only going to get tougher my pupil. You may have gotten to level ten in under a year, congratulations by the way, but I don't expect you to kill yourself to rise through the ranks. There will be instances when I have to pull you out for weeks, if not months at a time." Almost immediately Naruto scrunched his in displeasure. "Now don't give me that face boy, what you may miss in the dojo I will have you learning the more advanced arts of katate and if you show the potential; water manipulation."

"I honestly can't find any fault in that Boss." Naruto said, finding no fault in his reasoning. "Does that mean I will get as strong as you, or like the other warriors in the paintings?"

For a while Jinbe said nothing, his eyes glazing over as if remembering something from long ago. "Naruto-kun I don't doubt for a second that you will become as strong as them."

"Who were those guys anyways? I recognized father in his youth, and I heard tales of a couple other from the other knights. But I don't recognize the fishman with the gigantic sword wrapped in bandages, nor do I know about the three humans."

If anything the look of remembrance became full blown on the whale shark fishman's face. "Naruto those four are very special paintings. I may have not met three of them, but I heard much about them."

"Like what?"

"Well I guess I have one story in me before we arrive. The first person that comes to mind is none other than Hoshigaki Kisame the 'Monster of the Sea'. Before I was born he was a Royal Knight that fiercely protected Fishman Island both foreign and domestic. He was said to have been as strong as one-hundred fishmen combined together, the best swordsman of his time, and from the rumors I've heard able to steal a person's life force."

"What ever happened to him Boss?"

"He died Naruto. A couple years before I was born Fishman Island came under attack by an entire armada of pirates. The story goes is that he alone wouldn't allow anyone, much less humans to kidnap his people, and with his mighty Samehada in hand he alone fought the thousands of pirates and with his bravery and courage he inspired the rest of Fishman Island to fight off its invaders. Unfortunately he died afterwards due to the multitude of his wounds. From what I heard he was greatly mourned like Otohime was and buried him with his sword in a secret only known to the higher ups of the military."

"Why was he buried with his sword Boss?" Naruto asked.

"That is a story for another time Naruto-kun; we've arrived to our destination."

* * *

><p>To Naruto's ever increasing displeasure he found himself inside the Holy Land Mariejois listening to the rulers of almost every country under government bickering at each other. Apparently what Jinbe conveniently forgot to mention to him was that he offered to help with negotiations for this year's Reverie, because in his own words, 'Naruto-kun, Fishman Island will one day attend the Reverie. And I offered to make sure that everything goes smoothly so that they don't cause a war between each other, and so that we know what to expect when our time comes to join them.'.<p>

Well apparently the Reverie involved nothing more than a bunch of old men screaming at each other, seriously was this what his adoptive mother imagined?

"Everyone please give me your attention!" A gray bearded man smoking a cigar barked at them. Holding up a picture of a dark eyed man with long spiky black hair with a widow's peak, and what resembled red tribal tattoos on the left side of his head with a sinister grin on his face. "Instead of bickering over petty nonsense we need to focus on this man. A revolutionary by the name of Dragon, he's extremely dangerous. And within five to six years he will be a threat to the world."

A few of the rulers stopped screaming at each other to listen in, but an overweight man dressed in tin-plated armor and a hooded cape made from White Walike skin scoffed at the notion. He brushed his dark blue hair sideways, gritted his cylinder-shaped jaw made up of tin plates together, and brought his right pinky finger to his nose. "What are you talking about? This has nothing to do with my country at all. That revolutionary, or anyone couldn't hurt my empire."

Immediately Naruto found himself hating the overweight man, but a small grin came to his face when a tan middle-aged man with a tied-off beard and long, curly black hair stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "Wapol, you are so selfish! Why do you think we're holding this meeting!" he bellowed at the selfish king causing him to fall out of his seat and onto the floor, causing several people to chuckle.

"Nefertari Cobra." The fat ruler growled out.

After another four hours of bickering, the meeting was adjourned for another two years. Because he was young Naruto didn't really follow their political mumbo jumbo, but at least no one bothered him during that entire time. However he soon realized that he would have to wait for his mentor to clear several things with the Gorosei, whoever they were, and then they could leave.

"He didn't!"

"He did! Wapol has gone off the deep end!"

"What the?" Naruto asked himself as several people ran past him. Normally he wouldn't care what was going on, but his curiosity got the better of him and ran towards the commotion. There he saw a sight that made his blood boil, it was that fatass king standing over a small blue-haired girl that looked to be about Shirahoshi's age.

"Oops! How rude of me? Aren't you the daughter of that stupid king Nefertari Cobra? I feel really sorry for you Mahahahahaha!" The obnoxious king bellowed in glee as he looked down at the injured girl that he slapped not too long ago.

A tall man with an old blond English-style wig gritted his teeth at the man and was about to say something, but to Naruto's surprise the girl displayed utmost maturity for someone her age.

"Igaram it'd fine. I'm the one at fault." She said to him in a shaky voice.

That apparently didn't bode well with Wapol who not so subtly reached his left hand behind his back; Naruto saw the familiar form of a flintlock pistol and lost it.

Bursting from the crowd Naruto blindsided him with a kick to the back of the head. Unprepared Wapol flew forward, flinging both his arms out to reveal the pistol he was going to pull on the daughter of Nefertari Cobra. Involuntarily he pulled on his trigger finger, firing off the gun, but thankfully not hitting anyone, and smashed headfirst into a building.

Immediately realizing what he just did Naruto quickly turned on his right heel, and bolted away. Just before he fled the area he turned his head, and locked his blue eyes onto the blue-haired girl's gray ones. Time seemed to stop for a split second as they eyed each other before the blond disappeared into the crowd.

The young girl, Nefertari Vivi, sat there in shocked silence. She wasn't aware of Igaram, Captain of Alabasta's Royal Guard fretting over the bruise forming on her head, nor the Marines blocking off the scene. Instead her mind was processing exactly what she saw in the blond fishman's blue eyes, the smoldering anger at Wapol, reflecting sadness that wasn't towards her but someone else that was close to him, and bitterness of what she thought was some sort of failure.

Those eyes would haunt her for years to come.

* * *

><p>"Do anything interesting Naruto-kun?" Jinbe queried a few hours later once they got out to sea.<p>

"I don't know what you're talking about Boss." Naruto lied.

"Oh really now? I could have sworn that on my way here I overheard many people talking about a blond tiger shark fishman saving the life of Nefertari Cobra's daughter." The whale shark fishman continued to tease his pupil. "But that was extremely reckless, you're lucky that Wapol was one of the most hated people there or I would have had a tough time explaining why my pupil was out of control."

Feeling flustered the blond huffed and crossed his arms, "He had a gun Boss…I couldn't in good conscience let him shoot her." Suddenly feeling a hand on his shoulder Naruto looked up to see Jinbe giving him an appreciating smile.

"You did the right thing Naruto-kun, Queen Otohime would be proud of you." Naruto beamed at that. "Now since it will take two more weeks to get home do you want to find out if you're ready for the water manipulation exercises?"

"You bet boss!"

* * *

><p>Armageddon: *dressed as Black Mask* And another chapter done and over with! Man it's about damn time too!<p>

Lt. RasenganFin: *dressed at Two-Face* Dude are you getting burned out over this fic? Because that's not healthy for an author, and why am I dressed as Two-Face!

Pvt. Liquor: *dressed as Joker* Yea man if you do that...then there is no future for the rest of your stuff! And what am I a clown to you?

Armageddon: Relax guys my brain just needs a break, hopefully the Halloween party I'm going to will loosen me up, and a few days of relaxation will help matters. And don't complain I like those two villains.

Pvt. Leaf Ranger: *dressed as Deadshot* Well at least tell us a fic you would recommend before you head out, or do whatever the hell you're going to do on Halloween. And damn do I look awesome!

Armageddon: Oh right, well since I've been quite busy I would recommend Titanic Overlord by Overlord Darkmoon. I know it ain't a Naruto fic, but it was an easy read and it didn't suck like all the other Overlord crossover fics that I read throughout the years.

Lt. Doom: *dressed as Bane* Is that all Armageddon?

Armageddon: Yes just this. *snaps his fingers*

Pvt. VFSNAKE: *comes out dressed as the Riddler*

Pvt. Killjoy: *comes out dressed as the Ratcatcher*

Pvt. Superninja: *comes out dressed as Clayface*

Pvt. Fox: *comes out dressed as Mr. Freeze*

Sgt. Shadowtrayster: *comes out dressed out as Killer Croc*

Pvt. DemonShifter: *comes out as Solomon Grundy*

Pvt. Gold: *comes out as Hugo Strange*

Pvt. Superninja: *comes out as Ra's al Ghul*

The Sponge Bob announcer: *comes out as Scarecrow*

Bluestone: *comes out dressed as Penguin*

DusandDan: *comes out dressed as Victor Zsasz*

Armageddon: As you can see I'm it's Halloween, my friends and I are going out to a party dressed as Batman villains I'm just using my grunts to show you all which villains we're using. Unfortunately for me I ran out of people and had to put in three extras from the old fic but now you know what's going on, and that I'm going to spend the rest of the night playing Batman: Arkham City so see you all later, and happy Halloween! *laughs evilly with a flashlight shining in front of his face*


	4. The First Loss is oddly Refreshing

I do not own Naruto or One Piece. If I did, well I would definitely be a better artist than I am right now.

"Talk"Talking

_'Think'_ Thinking

* * *

><p>"You have got to be kidding me." Naruto whispered to himself, his face twisted in horror and his right eye twitching.<p>

Jinbe only gave his student a loud laugh while he watched the blond twitching as his mind digested what he told him. Five years after the incident with Wapol he watched his student grow by leaps and bounds. Sitting before him was not the eight year old boy with the power of a Sea King, but a fifteen year old young man that was highly respected within the Fishman Karate Dojo, and if he was being true to himself the son that he never had.

Leaning back as he continued to watch the blond wig out at a certain talk he took in the changes he went through. No longer was he the pipsqueak that constantly wore his karate gi that had the temper of a wolverine, but instead he was a tall teenager wearing an open blue vest that revealed his muscled torso, tan pants, and black open-toed sandals. But the only eye raiser was the gigantic anchor that was turned into a double-headed axe strapped to his back, and with the way the small ship was tilting it showed how heavy it was, and white training tape wrapped around his right fist and forearm.

"So that's how we are all born?" Naruto asked before placing his hand on his forehead in disbelief.

"That is correct Naruto-kun. In order for our species to continue on living a mermaid, or merman should they allow it can split their tails at an early age to reproduce, and for the giant species with practice they could shrink down to a normal size in order-"

"I get it!" The blond interrupted him with a red face. "Our kind has complicated mating procedures, I know that now! But what I don't get is _why_ you're explaining the fish and the mermaids to me."

"Naruto-kun you're at that age where your body starts changing, soon you will start thinking about girls, and you will grow taller, and wake up with morning-"

"Boss!"

Laughing at his apprentice Jinbe leaned against the mast of the small ship before his face went from jovial, to serious in a split second, alerting the blond that whatever he was about to say was serious. "Me teaching you about reproduction aside, do you know why I pulled you out of class once again?"

"I honestly have no idea boss, the last time you brought me out it was to keep watch on some pirate activity around Summer Island, and I ended up having an anchor landing on my head because of it." Naruto replied as he patted the axe on his back.

Clearing his throat the whale shark fishman explained pointed out at the sea. "Because I'm on a mission to deal with a certain menace to the World Government."

"You mean assassinate." The blond clarified.

"Unfortunately, but I won't kill this man." Seeing his student raise an eyebrow Jinbe explained his soon to be future actions. "You see Naruto-kun this man has been an ally of Fishman Island for over twenty years, almost a decade after Kisame's heroic death another battalion of pirates descended upon Fishman Island. But this time it was a human who stopped them before they could even start, and during all of it he proclaimed the fishmen as his friends and claimed the island as one of his territories. In fact he shared a drink with Neptune and afterwards no pirate has ever attempted to attack our people ever again."

"Well whoever he is this man has done a piss poor job at using his name to protect my parents." Naruto retorted, only to receive an extremely hard punch to the top of his head. Letting out a yelp of pain he rubbed the forming knot before glaring at Jinbe, this wasn't the first time he got hit on the head for his language, or his lingering bitterness towards humans, but damn did it hurt!

"You better hold your tongue about the most powerful pirate since Gold Roger boy, he may be an old man but he can still kick your ass around the world faster than you can say Devil Fruit."

"Wait a freaking second, Boss you're telling me that we're going to see Whitebeard!" The tiger shark fishman bellowed in surprise.

"Looks like my lessons about the Three Great Powers have stuck with you even now." Jinbe smirked at him. "But you are correct, I was assigned to try and kill him because of my species, but I will not do that. Not after everything he has done for us."

"But why see him anyways? The man can visit the island anytime he wants to right?"

"Whitebeard hasn't been to the island in a long time, and truthfully I doubt that he will ever set foot on it again with his age catching up to him."

"Then how will we find the man?" Naruto asked. "There are thousands of miles that lead to nowhere, and the new world is highly volatile with unpredictable weather conditions and other things that just can't be explained."

"Just leave that to me Naruto-kun." Jinbe replied.

* * *

><p>(Five days later)<p>

Several days passed until Naruto finally saw the imposing ship anchored at an island that held the strongest man in the world. Unlike the Marine ships that he usually saw, this was a monster sized battleship with a blue whale figurehead. From what he saw, it held four gigantic masts on its deck and a row of fifteen cannons on each side that looked like they could sink a ship with one shot.

To his surprise the two fishmen were invited onto the battle ship, and immediately Naruto felt like he was suffocating. The sheer power that came from the crew members was horrifying, but after seeing Whitebeard just sitting on what looked like a gigantic chair with hooked up to numerous oxygen tubes, intravenous tubes and life support systems in his enormously muscular body, but despite that the suffocating aura he was giving off nearly made him faint. But Jinbe, who seemed unaffected, reached into his karakusa and pulled out a gigantic jug of what Naruto thought to be saki…high quality and expensive saki.

"Whitebeard, at long last we finally meet." Jinbe greeted the strongest man in the world.

"Jinbe "The Knight of the Sea"." Whitebeard's deep voice echoed in everyone's ears. "Never in my life did I think you would seek me out for a drink." As foreboding as his voice sounded the elderly man gave him a smile, "Come forward we have much to discuss."

Without a moment of hesitation the whale shark fishman gently nudged his student on the shoulder and stepped forward. The two sat down in front of the giant man and poured the alcoholic beverage into two gigantic saucers, the three sat in silence as the two opposing sides of the law clanked the saucers together and drank for several minutes.

"I suppose this isn't a friendly visit. More than likely you were sent here like a dog by your masters to take care of me because of your race." Whitebeard broke the silence with the blunt truth.

"You are correct." Jinbe calmly replied. "But as you can see I have no intention of going through with it, not after what you have done for my people."

"I'm glad you think that way, it would have crushed me to harm you in front of your pupil." Seeing Whitebeard's yellow eyes gaze upon him Naruto couldn't help but gulp as the Yonko seemed to size him up. Then after a few seconds he let out a hearty laugh, "The boy has fire in his eyes, you picked a good one Jinbe."

"I'm not all that great; I still got a lot to learn." Naruto nervously responded.

"Nonsense boy, what I see in you is something powerful. Otherwise you wouldn't have been able to lift that weapon of yours, mind if I see it for a second?" Nodding in response Naruto handed the pirate captain his giant axe so he could get a good look at it. With an expert view he weighed it with one hand and immediately deduced it to weigh around five tons, an impressive feat for a fishman his age. Settling his eyes on it he saw to his confusion that it was an admiralty anchor that was missing the arms at the end of the shackle, but underneath the stock were two razor sharp stainless steel pieces of metal that formed into axe heads. "Impressive, to turn a simple anchor into a weapon such as this. With a little more work I'm sure it would be a weapon for the ages."

"More work? What's wrong with it?" Naruto frowned as he took his weapon back.

"It just needs work." Whitebeard replied.

"Naruto-kun, Whitebeard and I need to discuss some important issues. I'll meet you back at the ship."

"Nonsense Jinbe let the lad see the ship. After all it's not every day someone sees the Moby Dick inside and out."

Twisting his face into a confused and disgruntled look Naruto nodded in response and left the two to do their business. And with nothing to do he followed Whitebeard's advice and looked around the ship, and he must say he was highly impressed with everything about it. Unlike some pirate ships he saw over the years when Jinbe dragged him along on a few of his assignments, they were filthy and some were barely staying afloat. The _Moby Dick_ was well cleaned, and several shipwrights were obsessively looking over the walls and the floorboards sketching down the conditions and future improvements.

While he was idling through one of the many hallways the blond silently observed the crew members. For humans they were well behaved, granted several of them were horsing around, a couple were drinking and even a few were sparring against each other while others were cleaning the floors or the various weapons. But one man caught his eye…no not a man, a fishman.

Ducking into the nearest hallway Naruto peered his head out to observe the shark fishman, as evidenced by his shark-like teeth, but Naruto could not tell his species. He also had a scar or a mark in the shape of a lightning bolt on the left side of his face and fangs protruding from his lower jaw, similar to his boss. He was somewhat short and rotund in shape, and his hair was arranged in spikes pointing upwards. He had the number eight tattooed to the left of his neck, and wore a white t-shirt with sky blue sleeves with an orange colored star logo for the Criminal brand, an outrageous store that sold the most expensive clothing brand he ever saw in his life on his chest. He also wore standard grey pants held up by a belt, and was barefooted.

Naruto couldn't believe what he was seeing, a fishman of all people in a human pirate crew. Due to his previous experiences he figured that to be an impossibility, but his eyes were not deceiving him. And when the fishman turned his back on him to head off to who knows where the blond saw the shark fin protruding from his back. The blond followed him as discretely as possible, ducking behind corners, and blending in with a large group of pirates whenever he could.

After fifteen minutes the tiger shark fishman found his back pressed against the entrance to the cargo room where he saw the fishman enter. And to his immense shock Naruto saw him chatting it up with three men of various ages.

The first person he was leaning against a wall was a broad-chested muscular tan man around Jinbe's height with a curly black mustache and a dark blue top hat on top of his black curly hair with an earring in each ear. He was wearing a semi-open dark blue shirt with a white diamond stripe pattern near the top that revealed some of his hairy chest, as well as a cape that matches the color of his shirt and white gloves. He was also wearing light blue pants with a belt that held two sword sheaths that held two sabers with purple hilts.

The second was a teenager with wavy black hair and childish freckles sitting on a large crate. He wore an yellow open-front shirt, black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. Oddly enough he also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts, and a dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. But the coolest thing he was wearing by far was a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.

The third was a tall brown-haired man with a pompadour hairstyle, that went to a point at the back of his head, and a black goatee around his chin leaning against the crate. He also had a stitched scar running down his face, around his left eye. The man was also dressed in a white posh uniform, with calf-long pants, a black belt around his waist, a yellow scarf and black shoes.

The fourth and final person leaning against the other wall was a lean yet muscular, blond-haired man with a rather sleepy look and some stubble around his chin. He was wearing a simple open purple jacket and a light blue sash adorned with an elaborate golden-yellow belt around his waist. He had dark gray knee-long pants and black sandals, and on his left leg he was wearing what appears to be some sort of straw decoration. Looking closely Naruto saw that he had Whitebeard's second Jolly Roger that looked like a cross and crescent moon mustache symbol on it.

Almost immediately Naruto broke out into a cold sweat. Just like Whitebeard he felt the sheer power rolling off them, they were a dangerous bunch, and he felt that this would not be a good time to try and talk to them. So slowly, very slowly the blond backed away until he felt his back hit something solid. Feeling his sweat fall from his head he slowly turned before his eyes bugged out.

Behind him was an extremely tall, very muscular, broad-chested, heavily-armored and dark-skinned man. He had a long battle-hardened face with a perpetual scowl with black stripe-like patterns for a beard and hairstyle. His legs are relatively thin in comparison to his muscular arms. He also wore dark armor with red-bolted darl shoulder pads. On his chest he has a green cuirass, whose front and back portions are connected by metal straps that go over both his collarbones. Around his waist there was a big, elaborated golden belt, worn over what looked like a green skirt with golden decorations near the edge. He also wore what looked like studded, black and gold large-buckled shoes or boots and matching black studded pants.

"Well look who we have here." The giant man's gruff voice said as he grabbed him by his axe and lifted him into the air. "It looks like we got a rat boys!"

"There is no need to over exaggerate Jozu we all felt him coming from a mile away." The pompadour hair-styled man said in a jovial tone.

"Put the boy down and join us old friend, we were about to continue last week's topic." The swordsman continued before pulling out a mug from a nearby rack, reached over to a barrel of and turned the tap letting the alcoholic drink pour out into his mug.

"That one was stupid Vista." The man known as Jozu pointed out. "The only one who even pulled some sort of prank was Ace here, I find that type of stuff childish, Namur won't even comment about it and Marco only burned a house down by accident."

"Pfft is that all? I bet I could entertain you with all the crap I've done." Naruto spoke up. Why he did it, he honestly didn't know, but it probably had something to do with his prankster pride that was pretty infamous on Fishman Island.

"Oh really now?" This time it was the teenager named Ace who spoke up. "Now what kind of pranks have you ever done? Was it graffiti or pansing someone?"

A gigantic toothy smile soon came to the blonds face. "No, I single handedly defaced the Royal Knight's armor."

"I call bullshit!" Namur barked out, surprising the pirates within the room to look at the normally quiet fishman. "The Royal Knights have been trained to be on constant alert; there is no way a kid like you could even pull that off."

"Well then, pull up a crate I have a story to tell you all…provided gigantor doesn't kill me." Naruto replied with a twinge of nervousness.

* * *

><p>A few hours later the six were found laughing like old friends who haven't seen each other in years. With some alcohol flowing through their systems the oldest members of Whitebeard's crew were quite literally falling over themselves, even the serious Jozu was cracking a few chuckles.<p>

"Neon pink armor? That is hilarious man!" Ace bellowed out as tears of mirth fell from his eyes.

"I liked it when he put itching powder in their clothes." Thatch wiped a tear away from his right eye before drowning his mug of rum.

"While I'm not fond of sword vandalism I can't help but find the funny." Vista admitted, but kept his hands on the hilts of his swords just in case.

"I just can't believe the Royal Knights have gone soft after all these years." Namur said. "Before Whitebeard came along they would never let something like that happen. I mean if a child could do it, then an assassin could-"

"That's the point I was trying to make actually." Naruto interrupted him, "I owe them so much for taking me in, it's the least I could do weather they know about it or not."

"That's noble of you kid." Jozu said.

"But what I find interesting is that Jinbe of all people helped train you to become the young man you are today. I mean the man is considered a legend in some parts of the world." Marco commented.

"I'll say he and I fought for five straight days that ended in a tie." Ace offhandedly commented.

"You fought Boss Jinbe into a tie?" Naruto questioned the freckled teenager.

"Yes I did, he was one of the best opponents in my entire life."

"That's impossible, no disrespect Ace but I find it hard to believe that you could fight toe-to-toe with my mentor."

Feeling quite insulted Ace glared at the blond before jumping to his feet. "Is that so? Well little miss anchor carrier I doubt you have ever faced anyone of his caliber, let alone mine."

"Is that a challenge I hear freckle-face?" Naruto demanded.

"You bet your ass it is! I'm going to fight you, and show you that I ain't no liar."

"…what the fuck just happened?" Namur deadpanned as the two teenagers bolted out of the room.

(On the deck of the Moby Dice, three minutes later)

"What the hell is going on here?" Whitebeard demanded when he saw Ace and Naruto run by both Jinbe and himself, before leaping onto the sandbar of the island they were anchored at.

"It looks like a fight." One of the crew members remarked.

Jinbe however looked on with confusion when he saw his student stretch his legs out, and to his immense surprise the one and only Portgas D. Ace was there as well. "Whitebeard, what is the Captain of the Spade Pirates doing here?"

"Oh you didn't know? I fought him after a scuffle he had with another enemy, the boy put up quite a fight despite his weakened condition, but I defeated him in the end."

"And brought him on your ship?" The whale shark fishman questioned. "He was rumored to be after your head, was that really a wise idea?"

"Gurararara! The boy tried to kill a hundred times, but he's mellowed out in the last few months. Now I can happily say he's one of my sons." Whitebeard dismissed the fishman's worries with a wave of his powerful right hand. "Now let's cut the chatter, I'm eager to see the results of this fight."

(With Naruto and Ace on the deserted island)

"All right freckle-face I'll give you a chance to give up right now, there is no shame in that." Naruto boasted before cracking his neck.

"I was just about to say the same to you Blondie." Ace replied while he cracked his knuckles. "All right when the gun fires we start."

"…what gun? We just ran onto the beach." Naruto deadpanned.

Sweat-dropping Ace turned towards the _Moby Dick_ and yelled. "Hey! Can one of you shoot a gun in a few seconds so we can start the fight!"

Almost immediately one of the crew members fired from his flintlock pistol and the fight officially began. Naruto was the first to bolt towards Ace at extreme speeds despite the gigantic anchor strapped to his back. Ace however saw that move coming a mile away and sidestepped the blond; the sound of metal clicking was his only warning before he found himself cut clean in half by one of the axe heads.

"Take that you…the shit?" Naruto's boasting was cut off when he saw his bifurcated opponent mend himself back together with flames. "Oh you son of a bitch! You're one of those damn devil fruit users!" he shouted at him before switching his axe into his left hand. The blond knew a little bit about devil fruits, that they made the people who ate them pretty damn powerful, and the only thing to beat them was with water, that was it.

"That's right Blondie; I ate the Flame-Flame Fruit. Good luck trying to hit me." Ace replied with a wide grin.

Reeling his right arm back Naruto gave him a shark-like grin. "Challenge accepted! Water Shot!" Thrusting his right arm forward he hurled a simple droplet of water at the fire-user.

"Heat Haze!" Ace fired back as he thrust his right arm out, shooting out a stream of fire from his palm of his hand.

The two attacks hit dead on, extinguishing each other into a small mist. Undeterred though, Naruto flexed his powerful leg muscles and flew right into the steam swinging his axe, just like before though it harmlessly passed through his opponent without harming him. "Come on Blondie, I already told you that you can't hit me with that thing!" Ace shouted at the tiger shark fishman.

"It was worth another shot freckle-face!" Naruto shot back. Looking at his axe he tossed it away where it landed on the sand with a loud crash and stretched his arms, "All right then I guess I'm going to have to try something new." With that said the tiger shark fishman bent his legs, jumped high into the air, and flew straight into the sand.

* * *

><p>(On board the Moby Dick)<p>

"Did your student just dive into the sand?" Whitebeard deadpanned.

"Yes…I wonder what is going through his head?" Jinbe scratched his bearded chin in confusion.

"Don't you know your own student's moves?" Namur asked as he neared the two of them with the other commanders in tow.

"I've only taught him the basics of water manipulation, extreme strength, endurance, and speed training and how to perfect several karate techniques he was having trouble with." The Knight of the Sea defended himself. "But recently he's been really secretive about them. So far there is only five that I know of, and that's when he reached level twenty in the dojo."

"So…this is really the first time you're seeing him in action." Marco questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"That is correct." Jinbe answered. "And I have faith that he'll exceed my expectations."

"Provided that he even lays a hand on Ace." Whitebeard commented when he saw the blond fishman leap out of the sand, and phase right through the former Captain of the Spade Pirates.

* * *

><p>Hitting the ground once again Naruto bared his sharp teeth at the fire-user. He made it no secret that he thought lowly of devil fruit-users, and now he despised whatever kinda power Ace had that made him virtually immune to physical harm by conventional means. "Damn it all to hell." He muttered to himself.<p>

"Come on Blondie is that all you've got? I thought a student of Jinbe would be more challenging!" Ace continued to taunt his opponent with that same damnable smile on his face.

"Shut up!" The blond roared. Tightening his leg muscles the tiger shark fishman sprang at the black-haired teenager, Naruto raised his right arm to clothesline Ace in the throat. And just like every physical attack he tried it just went right through him, however this time Ace pivoted on his right foot, and struck him straight in the back, lighting his vest, along with himself in a blaze.

Fortunately for Naruto the hit just sped up his momentum causing him to fly into the ocean, extinguishing the flames. Then everything was silent, dead silent, for several seconds no one dared to move. Then chaos erupted beneath the ocean, without any warning Naruto rose out of the water like an angry god of the sea. The water trailed off his tan skin to cool down the recent burns which resulted in the loss of his vest, and his blond hair mattered against his head, shielding his eyes.

But the rage was rolling off of him; everyone could see his already muscular frame increasing in size. Without a word Naruto raised his right arm and the sea obeyed spinning constantly in motion to the point where it was nothing but compactly pressured water spears. "Water Fang Bullet!" his voice whispered, as if a verbal command was given the sea water surged forward like attack dogs.

Immediately Ace went on the defensive, jumping away from the spirals of death that took massive chunks of wood from the palm trees. He jumped over one that tried to take him out at the knees, but to his shock it and several others changed their course of direction to impale him in midair. Fully knowing that he couldn't dodge them all at once he drew deep into himself, and exploded in a shower of flames. The two elements hit each other dead on creating a massive cloud of steam that covered the entire beach.

Naruto however wasn't done by a long shot, opening his mouth a powerful jet of water flew out at the shore. For the spectators they saw nothing but devastation as the technique dragged on for five straight minutes, leveling hundreds of trees and shattering boulders. When the adopted son of the Royal Family ended his water technique to catch his breath an enormous wall of fire flew through the thick mist forcing him to dive underneath the waves.

* * *

><p>"What on God's green earth?" Whitebeard looked on in immense fascination, "Jinbe, that boy of yours…how is he doing that?"<p>

"Naruto is…special." The Knight of the Sea replied, his voice betraying how baffled he was about this situation.

"No one is that special; it even takes prodigies decades to do what he did. How could a boy no older than fifteen perform such unique and deadly attacks?" Namur demanded.

"He trains." Jinbe solemnly responded. "Every day since he was eight years old he trained his heart out. From the many times I took him with me on my assignments he never stopped trying to improve himself. And his teachers have been reporting to me that he stays up to the brink of dawn practicing his techniques until he faints from exhaustion."

Vista was about to respond how unhealthy that was for one's body, but then a thick wall of fire that was as long as the beach itself erupted from the mist forcing Jinbe's student to dive under the water, and disappearing as steam blocked everything from sight.

"Those two are going to kill each other if this keeps up." Marco commented as the mist covered the entire ship.

"Not unless Ace ends this first." Whitebeard replied.

* * *

><p>Unseen by the entire crew Naruto swam downwards until he hit the bottom. His hair flowing upwards to reveal his crimson eyes the fishman focused his energy, molding it around him like a spiraling sphere. With a growl that expelled a massive amount of bubbles from his mouth, the blond soared upwards onto the island still encased within the water.<p>

Once he hit the beach the water surrounding him expelled in an outward motion, soaking the entire beach in sea water, no; not soaking it, _flooding_ it. "Is that good enough for you freckle-face!" Naruto bellowed in response to Ace's earlier taunts.

His question was answered with a punch to the face that made him fly ten feet from where he was standing. Violently hitting the ground Naruto used the momentum to flip back onto his feet, "Son of a bitch." He spat out a mouthful of blood along with three of his teeth.

"I have to admit Blondie you surprised me." Ace emerged from the thick mist into the crimson-eyed teen's sight. He was missing his shirt, revealing a tattoo on his upper left bicep that spelled "ASCE" going vertically it with the "S" crossed out. But most importantly he soaked to the bone, nullifying his Devil Fruit powers. "But I'm afraid that all you've done was piss me off."

"I could say the same thing to you too." Naruto responded before cracking his knuckles. In response his opponent launched himself at him, punching out with his right fist. The tiger shark fishman caught it in a vice-like grip before throwing a punch with his only free hand, only for Ace to catch it his free hand leaving the two at a deadlock.

For a full minute the two were locked in a power struggle trying to overpower each other. Red eyes met black, and for that exact moment they saw everything that formed them into the men they were today, they both saw the hardships of their childhoods, the loss of someone close to them, and the hell they went through to get stronger.

The moment soon passed and Naruto reared his head back, head-butting Ace right in his nose. Hearing the crack of cartilage the blond beamed when he finally saw his opponent finally bleeding, but unlike a normal person who would hold his newly broken nose Ace reared his head back in retaliation, and smashed his forehead into the tiger shark fishman's nose, breaking it as well. Unlike Ace who shrugged it off Naruto kicked his square in the stomach, sending him out of his range of vision.

Cradling his bleeding nose in his right hand Naruto felt his knees shake and give out underneath him. His senses were going haywire, his hearing ringing, his eyes blurring into double vision. At times like this he cursed that he was one of the shark species, they didn't have many weaknesses except for their eyes, and sensitive noses. The blond shakily got to his feet to make a tactical retreat so he could recover long enough to get back into the fight.

Fate however had other plans in store. Bursting through the mist Ace reared his right fist back and slugged Naruto right in his cheek. Not letting up he plowed his left fist right into his stomach once, then a second time, a third time, and finally a fourth time before upper cutting the blond fishman right in the chin, causing his lower jaw to violently smash into his upper one, resulting in a loss of more teeth. The former Captain of the Spade Pirates brought his right fist back near his body, and threw a devastating blow the blond's chest, driving him back into the mist but not out of his range of sight.

Skidding through the wet, sloppy sand Naruto coughed in agony. Never in his life did he feel such pain, granted he managed to hurt his opponent, but he just turned around and damaged him two-fold. It was as infuriating as it was fun…yes for the first time in his entire life Naruto felt the thrill of battle, to stake his life in mortal combat.

"Hahaha oh God this is insane." He crackled to himself. "I can't stop here, I need to continue…I need _more_." Clenching his right fist to the point where his knuckles popped, Naruto started to rotate his shoulder, focusing his energy into his right fist. The mist began to disperse, swirling in almost a tornado-like fashion.

As the mist quickly started to disperse Ace narrowed his eyes as he saw his opponent gearing up for what looked like a powerful attack. But then a smirk came to his face as he felt his fire beginning to come back, forming his right hand into a fist he poured the power that came from the Devil Fruit into his hand, igniting it ablaze.

Without a word or hesitation the two dashed forward, raising their right fists up to attack.

"Whirlpool Breakthrough Fist!" Naruto roared before punching his arm forward.

"Fire Fist!" Ace shouted as his fire covered fist punched at his opponent.

The two attacks collided with such intensity that the ground underneath them simply disintegrated, the remaining trees tore away from the ground and caught fire, and the very sea itself evaporated in several places. The two opponents gritted their teeth when they felt their respective right fists cracking under the sheer intensity of their signature moves blinding the area in a white light, blinding the witnesses for the fight.

When the light cleared Ace was the only one left standing over the unconscious and defeated Uzumaki Naruto.

* * *

><p>It would be a few hours later when Naruto opened his eyes. He didn't flinch or cry out in pain, mainly because his entire body was numb wit what he figured was morphine. Turning his head sideways the blond saw that he was in some sort of hospital room with a nurse checking over a chart clutched in her right hand.<p>

She was a fairly tall, light-skinned woman with light brown eyes and straight blond hair that went to her waist with shoulder-length bangs framing both sides of her face tied off into two loose ponytails. She had a violet diamond tattoo squared on her forehead, something that Naruto found odd to see on a nurse. Attire wise she was wearing a pink nurses uniform that certainly didn't hide her bust from view, black stockings, and a pink nurses hat. "Oh I see you're awake." She greeted him with a bored voice.

"Yea, I guess I am." Naruto responded. Planting his hands in the mattress he pushed himself up into a sitting position, and looking downwards he noticed that his ribs were bandaged up. "Aw man, what's the damage nurse?"

"Four cracked ribs, some mild second degree burns on your back and shoulders, numerous bruises on your torso and cheek, and of course the loss of all but two of your teeth." The nurse replied, almost as if she rehearsed it beforehand. "Just take it easy for two weeks, regrow your teeth, and you will be fine. Take care brat." She continued before departing to tend to her captain.

"…Cool as a ice." The blue-eyed teen deadpanned before lying back down on his back. Staring up at the wooden ceiling he contemplated on the fight that…he lost. Huh, honestly he didn't know how to feel about that. Ever since he lost his family he only looked out for himself, and that involved a lot of fighting, he never lost a single fight, not until today. It was a sort of relief, but it was also something that made him extremely uneasy.

"Hey Blondie, are you awake?" A voice cut him cut him out of his thoughts. Turning his head again Naruto saw Ace, looking as messed up as he, only he had a crutch under his right arm standing at the door along with Jinbe. "Hey mind if we come and see ya?"

"I don't see why not."

"Even injured and defeated you still have that mouth on you." Jinbe remarked before he stood by the foot of his student's bed. "How are you holding up?"

"Like I got the living hell beat out of me." Naruto retorted. "God Ace, even without those damn powers of yours you're no push over."

"Haha well you were a relentless one." Ace scratched the back of his head and laughed sheepishly. "Seriously, I've seen a few fishmen fight before. But you are something different, I have never seen anyone stand on top of water before, or command it without touching it."

"I was also surprised Naruto-kun." Jinbe added his two cents. "I knew you were training hard, but to progress this far in such a short time is just astounding, you should be at least level thirty eight instead of level twenty-nine."

"Maybe you could hold a demonstration for the higher ups, you know show them that you've progressed onwards while you've been traveling with Jinbe." Ace added in his two cents. "You stood toe to toe with me so that has to count for something."

"We'll see what happens. But I won't be able to do anything strenuous for two weeks, freaking doctors' orders." Naruto narrowed his eyebrows, and immaturely pouted.

"Hahaha! I know what you mean." The raven-haired teen patted the pouting tiger shark fishman on his right shoulder. "The nurse told me that your back bruised my right foot. Tell me, how hard is that back of yours?"

"It wasn't my back per say. What you kicked, and set on fire was a gigantic magnet on the back of my vest. "

"A freaking magnet! Blondie, don't pull my leg."

"How else do you explain a gigantic anchor magically hanging on my back?" Naruto deadpanned. "The tailor painstakingly wove small, but powerful magnets into that vest…now it's gone-" before he could continue his rant, Jinbe thunked the blond on the head, adding another bruise to his injuries.

"Quit your bellyaching Naruto-kun." The Knight of the Sea berated his student. "It was an unfortunate accident, but it can be replaced. But now onto serious matters…what else have you been holding back from me you little sneak."

The loud gulping noise coming from Naruto's throat did little to diminish Ace's howling laughter.

* * *

><p>After resting on the <em>Moby Dick<em> for the night the entire Whitebeard crew stood upon her deck to bid their visitors farewell. It honestly surprised Naruto that some of the most powerful men in the entire sea were bawling their eyes out seeing the two of them leave, but then again the person who beat the living hell out of him was a narcoleptic, so he guessed that there was no right to judge the others either.

When Jinbe and himself boarded their small ship the blond looked up to see Ace waving his right arm. They gave each other a nod of acknowledgement seeing a shark tooth strung over their necks; it didn't seem like much but those two teeth held a promise of each other to fight again one day.

And after a week of sailing the two fishmen arrived on the island and that was pretty much it. Jinbe took off to report his findings to Fleet Admiral Kong, and to drop off his student's weapon at the blacksmiths with a list of written instructions, while Naruto was literally forced to relax in the palace, he tried to escape several times and almost succeeded too if it wasn't for Iruka capturing him on Jinbe's request before leaving. While it completely blew that he had another week of recovery left, Naruto had to admit that it wasn't too bad, at least he finally got to see two of his adopted brothers several years after Otohime was assassinated.

Ryoboshi didn't look like he changed all that much, aside from being taller, thinner, and two rapiers that were held by his behind him. But despite those minor changes he was more upbeat and jovial than he remembered which caused him to feel a little better since being gloomy was not the way he wanted to see his second oldest brother. Manboshi also didn't change either, he was still the same size and shape, but he was carrying a sheathed longsword that looked awkward for his body type, but he looked capable of using it to his fullest extent.

"So Naruto is it true? Is it true that you met the infamous Whitebeard?" Manboshi demanded with a great amount of glee in his voice.

"Yes."

"Was he strong? Did you see him fight?"

"He felt strong, and no I didn't see him fight."

"Was his crew strong?"

"They are probably the best of the best."

Placing his hands over his brothers mouth Ryoboshi temporary shut his brother up for the time being. "Okay Manboshi I believe that's enough questions from you, now it's my turn so-la-si-do!" He finished his sentence in an odd musical tone that made the blond raise an eyebrow. "Did you fight someone?"

"What do you think?" Naruto pointed at his bandaged ribs.

"Oh, right. Who did you fight?"

"A human, by the name of Portgas D. Ace."

"Did you win?"

"No."

"No!" Manboshi bellowed out in surprise.

"Yes."

"So you did win?"

Palming his face Naruto shook his head, exactly wondering how thick-headed his brother was. "No Manboshi, I put up a good fight. But in the end I got my ass kicked."

Raising an eyebrow into his hairline Ryuboshi placed his right hand under his chin in thought. While he was silly, and acted goofy the second son of Neptune was far from stupid. The same could be said for Manboshi, but he was an airhead at times, and unlike him Ryuboshi could put two and two together almost instantly. "So you lost." He simply said.

Ignoring Manboshi's stunned look, Naruto simply nodded in response. He wasn't ashamed to admit a loss to a powerful enemy, especially when it showed him that while he was one if the strongest in the dojo, that didn't mean jack shit outside of the island where people were in a whole other league. "So how is Shirahoshi?"

"She's been doing well for the most part, Father, Manboshi and I have been visiting her as often as we can. But with Vander Decken still on the loose, we can't even allow her to leave the tower yet."

"What about Fukaboshi. Where has he been all these years?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You don't know? Brother Fukaboshi has been training in the art of Merman Combat." Manboshi answered his question with his ever increasing wide grin.

"Merman Combat? I'm sorry, but what the hell are you talking about?"

"Language little brother." Ryuboshi chided his adopted brother with a wagging finger, even though it only gave him a glare in return. "Naruto, Merman Combat is a fighting style used by us merfolk. It is used underwater and involves manipulating the water with their hands as if it were something tangible to use for long ranged attacks. It is in essence, the merfolk equivalent of Fishman Karate."

Before Naruto could even question where someone went to learn Merman Combat. Manboshi spoke up before he could, "So Naruto, Shirahoshi's twelfth birthday is coming up in a week. Are you going to see her this time?"

"I can't." He gritted out through his teeth. "Those bastard guards refuse to let me see her, not until I reach level forty in the dojo."

"That's preposterous! You're part of the family, and you should have-"

"I can't do shit!" Naruto barked at Ryuboshi. "I may be part of the family, but I'm not of royal blood, nor am I in line for the throne. But I'm fine with that, it may take a few more years, but I will see her one day." He finished with an almost unnoticeable sigh of sadness in his voice, before looking down at his lap.

Unknown to him his two adopted brothers moved their eyes sideways, and quickly nodded to each other.

* * *

><p>Four days later Naruto found himself in sitting in a hard chair across Fuguki's desk in his office. Normally this was not a big deal, since he was always getting chewed out for being absent months at a time, despite having a written excuse from Jinbe himself. But the feeling in his gut was telling that he was in for a different reason.<p>

Fuguki's glaring black eyes peered into his student's blue ones with a mixture of disinterest and a small amount of disgust. For in his webbed hands were pieces of paper, and written on them was a request from the two youngest sons of Neptune, and The Knight of the Sea. Both were put into a very well-written, if not sophisticated demand for him to promote Naruto up to level forty, fairly of course. Since, from the latter's accounts Naruto was more far along in his training than everyone thought he was, and the former was to help mend their family.

"Uzumaki." He began to get the blonds attention. "Here in my hands are three requests for you to be promoted to level forty. I for one think this is nothing more than rubbish!" And he demonstrated his ire by crushing the papers in his right hand, and tossed them into the trash. "These requests will be denied due to the lack of proper evidence is presented before me."

"If you lack proper evidence then I will give it." Naruto said to the puffer fish fishman. "I do see where you're coming from Fuguki-sensei, you hate special privileges. You want to see the people who come in here, sweat tears, blood, and mold themselves into something you would be proud of." His blue eyes glared into his black ones, but unlike the other times he did not flinch when he met his gaze. "Whatever decision you make today I will follow it without any complaint."

Minutes passed by without the two of them moving, much less breathing. They just stared at each other, almost peering into each others souls. What Naruto saw was a disciplined warrior, who fought against those who wished to harm him, and the bitterness that turned him into the person he was today. But for Fuguki he saw something that gave him pause, what he saw was a raging power stored within the blond's body, and desire, pure desire to protect those who were important to him. And for the first time, Fuguki felt a twinge of respect flow through his bitter body.

"All right Uzumaki, you have convinced me that you should get at least _a_ chance. I want you to come back tomorrow at noon, and I want you to come into the main dojo. There you will have to complete three tests, pass all three and you will have your rank." The puffer fish fishman said.

"You won't regret this sensei." Naruto promised him.

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Hey my faithful reviewers.<p>

Pvt. Liquor: Where the hell were you! Last time it took only a few weeks, but it's been two months man. MONTHS!

Pvt. VFSNAKE: *bops the obviously drunk Private over the head, which only caused him to belch loudly* No more eggnog for you.

Sgt. Shadowtrayster: Hahaha! Good times.

Pvt. Leaf Ranger: So, what are you going to do next boss?

Armageddon: Well I'm going to give this fic a rest for now, seriously I need to update my other ones and stop being a...well I've been busy, but I have been procrastinating badly. Sorry about that folks.

Pvt. Gold: Eh, shit happens boss. The fans know you don't mean for it to happen.

Pvt. Superninja: Exactly, just chill boss, you're stressed enough as it is.

Armageddon: Yea, you guys are right.

Lt. RasenganFin/Lt. Doom/Pvt. DemonShifter: Well boss, got anything else to say? Oi! Stop copying me. Hey, I said stop copying me! *grows at each other and starts an animated fistfight, gigantic dust clouds and all, which pulls everyone else inside it*

Armageddon: *bursts out laughing, since we all had too much eggnog* Nothing really. Except Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, and any other holiday you guys celebrate this time a year. Now if you'll excuse me I got to get into this action. *jumps into the gigantic animated dust cloud to join the fight*


	5. The Adventure Begins!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece. If I did, then shit like this would be real!

Talk: "Talk"

Think: _'Think'_

* * *

><p>"You stupid twerp!" Hody roared at the blond Fishman. Clutched by the neck in his right hand he slammed Naruto against the wall in the deserted hallway of the palace. "What is this I hear about you <em>losing to a human<em>!"

Naruto could only wince when he felt the read white shark fishman slam him into the wall again. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ryugu Kingdom soldier slammed him into the wall again, once, twice, thrice, and even a fourth time. He nicked his tongue on one of his teeth on the fourth time, and out of pure anger he drew back his right foot, and kicked Hody in his fat belly.

The pure force of the kick caused the great white shark fish man to release the blond, who proceeded to punch the soldier in the face once, twice, and after the third time the adopted son of Neptune coughed several times before taking in several long breaths.

"So this is what I get for helping you master water manipulation." Hody growled out in anger. "After all I've done for you lose to a human, and punch me in the face when I ask you a simple question."

"If I didn't punch you I would have died!" Naruto rubbed his tender throat, wincing a bit as he did so. "Now to answer your question, yes I fought a human, and yes I lost to him. But in my defense he ate a logia devil fruit that rendered most of my physical attacks useless, but after dousing him with seawater I didn't anticipate him being physically strong. It was a good fight, and I'm not ashamed that I lost."

Hody's white face turned purple out of anger. But while his outward appearance showed him about to explode in rage, inwardly he knew that his control over the boy was slipping. The boy was _supposed_ be his perfect weapon, throughout his lessons with the blond he was planting seeds of hatred for humans, but they haven't bloomed. He needed to do something drastic to get the boy on his side…and he knew exactly how to do it.

"You should be!" Hody barked at him. "With that power inside you, you should have been able to wipe that smelly human from existence!"

"Power? What in the world are you talking about?"

"You mean you don't know? Good God boy, didn't you think there was a reason the Royal Family adopted a lowly peasant?"

"It was because I protected the Queen. Right?"

"Jahahahaha! Do you really think that they would reward you for something like that? You foolish idiot, it was because of the power inside you; the fabled power of the Sea King!"

An immense weight plowed into Naruto's chest. It wasn't one of Hody's punches, it wasn't one of Hody's kicks; no it was the weight of truth. Dear God how could he have been so stupid! Why else would Jinbe use his precious time to train him? Why else would the Royal Family adopt a street boy like him? If it wasn't for whatever this Sea King power was inside him…he would still have been combing the streets for food, or working under Madam Shyarly on jobs that helped him stay clean.

His blue eyes immediately bled to crimson and his muscles, already toned and wired from years of intense training thickened and bulged outwards. Naruto gnashed his sharp teeth until they broke and regrew, his thoughts turned to violence as he imagined himself crushing Ryuboshi's head into Manboshi's and coating his hands with their brain matter and skull fragments. The blond also imagined tearing Fukaboshi's thick arms from his shoulders and beating him to death with them, his imagination also went wild when he tore Neptune's head off and showed it to Shirahoshi right before he…

Immediately thinking of the pink-haired mermaid Naruto's anger diminished much to Hody's displeasure. Shirahoshi was only six years old when he was adopted into the family, had been locked into that tower no thanks to Vander Decken IX…she was innocent. There were no ifs, ans, or buts; she was the only one who could have been saved in that family…within his clouded mind at least.

"I'm sorry Hody…I…I need to prepare myself for tomorrow."

When Naruto left his presence Hody Jones grinned at his retreating form. Thanks to his revelation the blond was in turmoil, his seeds were planted within him that would soon grow into beautiful flowers of hatred. And once they bloomed the great white shark fishman would use the power of the Sea King to crush the Neptune family, and form Fishman Island into his own utopia to rise to the surface.

And kill every single human once and for all!

* * *

><p>Sleep eluded Naruto that very night. Hody's words still rang in his ears, the lies that he was fed to him still stung the core of his very being, he recalled the event where he injured the World Noble…well he couldn't say he recalled it because there was nothing to remember; it was like that portion of his memory was blocked or wiped away.<p>

With a sigh of annoyance the blond fishman threw the covers off himself and strolled over the open windowsill. His blue eyes looked over the entirety of the Ryugu Kingdom, God how long had it been since he actually _seen_ the beautiful place? Four years? Five years? Honestly Naruto lost track of how long he had been away.

He looked towards the Hard-Shell Tower, and saw the place Shirahoshi was forced to call home. He wondered how many times Neptune and the others visited her? Was it once a week? Once a month? Or once a year? Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose to stem the migraine coming up, he was going to drive himself insane thinking about it.

"Damn it all, I have to calm myself." Naruto whispered tiredly to himself. "Her birthday is tomorrow; my test is tomorrow…I need to be focused…I need sleep."

Sadly the sleep he desired never came.

* * *

><p>The next day a tired Naruto found himself standing before Suikazan Fuguki, and Umino Iruka in one of the bigger classrooms of the Fishman Karate Dojo. Standing off to the sides were several dozen high ranking members that went from level forty all the way up to level seventy.<p>

"Uzumaki Naruto, you stand before us in a _one time_ chance to get promoted to level forty." Fuguki's authoritative voice rang throughout the room. The puffer fish fishman's eyes glanced around the room, taking in the surprised and disgusted faces of is fellow martial artists. "I am appalled, and disgusted that we are even doing this. If not for the fact that you have friends in high places, I would not have even allowed this to happen."

There was a minute of silence before the instructor spoke up again. "You will be given three tests to determine if you succeed or fail. The first one, here and now will be the trial of will." Fuguki snapped his fingers and three members of the crowd stepped forward. "I have instructed these three to attack you for three minutes straight. You are to not retaliate, and if you stay conscious at the end of three minutes you will pass."

Naruto could only glare at the instructor. So that was his plan, first he would be weakened, and then that would leave him at maybe half strength for the next test. When Fuguki snapped his fingers the three fishmen bolted at his still form to begin the first test.

A red-knobbed starfish fishman delivered the first strike. Its tubercles located along his right arm delivered a devastating haymaker to the blond's throat, causing him to involuntarily clutch it when he felt the damage to his windpipe. The second strikes were delivered to his belly by a pale, black-haired squid fishman by all this six arms, and then again by his two legs when he fell flat on his hands. The final punch was delivered by a crab fishman who smashed his nose with the back of his right claw.

Each strike to his body was agonizing. Whoever those three were, they were strong, extremely strong. The crab fishman struck him in the face once again, Naruto heard the familiar crack of cartilage as his nose was broken once again while the starfish fishman stabbed him right in the spine. Oh and to add insult to his already enormous amounts of injuries the squid fishman squirted him right in the face with black ink, blinding him.

Cracking an eye open the blond saw the smirk coming from Fuguki's face. Damn orange-haired bastard was getting a kick out of this; he was hoping that he would fail. It was due to remembering Hody's words that kept him from blacking out, Naruto embraced the pain by falling into himself, and making the pain his own.

"Enough!" It wasn't Fuguki who ended the trial, but Iruka who noticed it was long past the three minute mark. Once the three fishman ceased their beat down on the young tiger shark fishman Iruka darted over to check on the damage to his student.

It was not even remotely pretty. The exposed parts of Naruto's tan skin was covered in bruises, his right eye was swollen shut, and he had several minor, but still pretty painful cuts that stained parts of his karate gi red. "Hang on Naruto; I'll take you to a doctor."

Iruka's act of kindness was harshly rejected when Naruto shoved him away. He spat out a mouthful of blood and a few teeth as he looked up at Fuguki in spite; barely holding back his anger at the puffer fish fishman. "Bring on the next challenge." He spat out his words in anger.

Fuguki only showed the adoptive son of Neptune a sharp, toothy smile. "The next test is the trial of skill. What you need to do is demonstrate five skills that show you're worthy of passing…if you have any of course." He gestured towards five judges; one of them being Iruka himself. "They will grade your techniques giving you a score of one through ten as you total amount. Hope you're up to the challenge _boy_, I'd hate to see you _fail_."

"Bring it on. But let's take this outside; I rather not destroy the dojo."

After the entire crowd of fighters left the room, and went to the large courtyard filled with training dummies. The five judges stood off to the side, their expert eyes peering at the injured blond tiger shark fishman as he readied himself. Once again Naruto fell into himself to focus his energy to unleash his techniques perfectly.

His eyes snapping open Naruto snapped both his arms up into an X shape, and then snapped them downwards yelling, "Piercing Spiral Water Spear!" Using his powerful legs Naruto jumped upwards. Opening his mouth he let loose a stream of water, surrounding his entire body with it. Then to the surprise of his audience he began rotating his body like a drill, creating a sharp spiraling whirlpool of water around himself before flying downwards at one of the training posts; obliterating it on contact.

He then flew upwards above the spectators and brought the spiraling water around his forearms. Immediately after stabilizing his technique the blond snapped them downwards saying, "Water Sickles!" and unleashed powerful water blades that resembled the curved blades of sickles at the training posts, slicing them into two clean pieces.

Not satisfied with his devastation Naruto took a deep breath, and then opening his mouth a powerful jet of water flew out at the ground, leaving a trail of nothing but devastation that completely destroyed the ground underneath him. After ceasing the water attack Naruto rotated forward, building up extreme speed building and momentum until he slammed into the last training post with both of heels screaming, "Double Spiral Axe Kick!" He completely decimated the wooden structure and left a ten foot crater after he landed.

For his finishing move Naruto clenched his right fist to the point where his knuckles popped, he then started to rotate his shoulder, focusing his energy into his right fist. The remaining water within the dry area flowed towards him until they formed something akin of a tornado around his fist. Without any amount of hesitation the blond bolted towards the crowd.

Those within his path immediately bolted for cover when the tiger shark fishman punched his right arm forward. His voice filled with anger and excitement he yelled out his final technique. "Whirlpool Breakthrough Fist!" The attack hit the coral wall with an intensity of a tidal wave, and smashed through it to the other side.

After the technique ended Naruto looked over towards the judged; but most importantly he looked over at Fuguki, whose smug face was replaced with shock and surprise. "How do you like those techniques!" Naruto taunted the crowd.

"That was only four techniques Uzumaki, you fail!" Fuguki bellowed in response to the young fishman's taunt.

"Actually the third one was the Exploding Water Shock Wave technique. Now I would have happily called it out, but as you all saw I can't exactly talk with water flowing out of my mouth can I?" Naruto pointed out the obvious for his third technique. When he got no verbal response his only open blue eye focused on the judges. "So…what's my score? Or was I too fast for ya?"

"Destructive and powerful, I give them an eight." A seahorse fishman revealed his score.

"Too flashy but I see great potential. I give them an eight as well." A bearded catfish fishman announced his score.

"Exquisite, devastating…oh honey you got the moves! Ten all day!~" A flamboyant, rainbow trout fishman gave his review with a singsong voice.

"Nine!" A loud manatee fishman gave his review, and nothing more about it.

It came down to Iruka, now Naruto had a good score already. But his was probably the most important of all. The bottlenose dolphin fishman stared at his student, scratched the scar going across his nose before smiling. "You get a ten."

Naruto, along with most of the class cheered at his accomplishment. To the rookies, and intermediates it looked like the blond was going to do the impossible. Fuguki only gritted his teeth in anger before raising his arm to silence the crowd. "Well Uzumaki, since you _passed_ this test I have no choice but to start the final one. Are you ready?"

"Bring it on…Fuguki-_sensei_." Naruto forced the puffer fish fishman's title out of his throat.

That only brought a smirk onto the instructors face. With a snap of his fingers the entire courtyard was greeted with the pounding footsteps of a behemoth. And they were soon greeted with the giant form of Skorka, the killer whale fishman. It had been many years since Naruto saw him, but even he realized the changes his old rival went through.

Many years ago Skorka barely reached eight feet in height. But now he was well past the fifteen foot mark, his entire body that was already packed with thick muscles was replaced with even larger and tighter muscles that looked like they could crush coral and bend steel. His looks…were uglier than hell, he had several more scars that he proudly showed off; no thanks to him wearing only green Hawaiian-styled shorts.

The killer whale fishman gazed at the blond with his killer green eyes, and snorted when he saw him. "Is this a joke?" His rough, dangerous voice questioned Fuguki. "To reach level forty, I have to beat this whelp? Fine."

"And for me to get to level forty I have to fight him?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Skorka before his mouth broke out into a predatory grin. "I will happily take this trial."

"The let the trial of combat begin! You are to not stop until your opponent is unconscious, unable to fight," His face then split into a fierce grin. "Or dead…Now fight!"

Before the puffer fish fishman brought his right arm down the two opponents bolted towards each other. Skorka let out a fierce war cry when he threw his right arm out to punch the blond menace, but seeing the attack coming from a mile away Naruto easily dodged the punch, he then hopped to the left side and punched at the killer whale fishman's ribs.

Skorka however snapped his left hand towards the area where the attack would have broken several ribs. He caught Naruto's fist with his, and immediately clamped down on it with crushing force. With a loud yell the larger of the two rotated his left arm above his head; taking the small tiger shark fishman for a ride in the air before he smashed him into the ground once, twice, thrice, and even a fourth time before he dug his heels into the ground and began spinning. Skorka spun for two straight minutes, building up momentum and speed before releasing the blond, and watched as he violently slammed against and broke through the coral wall.

Skorka raised his muscular arms and let out a cheer of triumph lie one of those fake wrestlers always did at a sold out show. "How do you like that Uzumaki! I call that the Titan Devastator!"

He was only greeted when a powerful jet of water tore through the hole his opponent went through. Seeing the attack before Skorka easily dodged it, and when he saw the blond speed through the opening the killer whale fishman jumped high into the air, then spinning like a top he fell to the arena floor like a megaton bomb, smashing the area he landed in to nothing but dust, and sending Naruto into another wall.

"And that is called the Titan Hammer." Skorka cracked his scarred knuckles and bolted at his opponent once more. He let out another war cry, this time naming off another technique, "Titan Fist!" He aimed his punch at Naruto's head, but the slippery little eel managed to move at the last second, and instead lodged his entire arm into the coral wall.

That was when Naruto struck with vengeance. His fists struck Skorka's torso with the force of what felt like a train. There was no mercy from the beaten and battered blond as he continued to punch the killer whale fishman until he heard the tell-tale break of bones. Skorka roared out in pain, but had enough sense to deal a devastating strike to his opponents' side, but for once Naruto didn't go flying. Instead he rotated his shoulder, focusing his energy into his right fist. Like before whatever remaining water flowed towards him until it formed the familiar water tornado around his fist.

Naruto punched his right arm forward shouting, "Whirlpool Breakthrough Fist!" His technique hit Skorka square in the ribs, digging and tearing his flesh asunder. The force of the impact was strong enough to actually _lift_ the ridiculously muscled whale shark fishman off the ground, and sent his clear across the room; causing him to crash through the coral walls for the first time in his entire life.

Spitting to the side Naruto turned to face an extremely displeased Fuguki. The student of Jinbe wasn't stupid; he knew that Fuguki didn't remotely like him since he kept coming in and out of the dojo, received 'special training' from Jinbe, and was considered spoiled. Well Naruto was far from being spoiled; he worked himself to the bone and earned his skills through blood, sweat, and tears. Jinbe, while a good teacher was far too busy with his job as a member of the Shichibukai and only helped him refine his stances, and built up his strength with various rigorous and near torturous exercises. His secret teacher, Hody Jones, he gave him much needed help with his water manipulations, but that was it.

Snapping out of his thought he gave the orange-haired fishman his infamous shark smile. "I believe I have won."

Skorka's bellowing war cry broke the illusion of his well-earned win as the gigantic fishman burst from the walls. The entire right side of his torso was torn and shredded, showing destroyed muscle, and pieces of flesh handing for the damaged area. But Skorka ignored the crippling pain; he ignored the blood flowing down into a puddle. His eyes were restricted using nothing but unholy rage to keep himself standing. He used every ounce of willpower to rush his opponent, leaving behind a devastating trail of destruction behind him.

Naruto didn't hesitate to meet the mad fishman head on. He threw a punch in his already devastated right side, but to his horror Skorka took the blow, and instead grabbed him by the throat with his meaty hands. The young tiger shark fishman felt the restriction of his windpipe; he tried squeezing the pressure points on his opponent's wrists, he kicked him in the face, the chest, his wounded area. It all proved to be futile.

Skorka gave his suffocating opponent a smile. After long last the one who made him suffer such indignity of defeat was going to die! Oh God he felt so good that he didn't hear Iruka screaming at Fuguki to end the fight. "Good fight. But it was futile from the start Uzumaki, don't worry though I'll make sure to wish Shirahoshi a _happy birthday_, rot in hell my _rival_!"

If it wasn't for the mention of his dear sibling, and his bold claim of their pathetic rivalry Naruto would have lost his life. But just looking into Skorka's killer green eyes, the tiger shark felt the primal urge to utterly destroy him. Now that he knew what the urge was, he embraced it; he allowed his rage to take him over…just so he could wipe the smile off Skorkas' face! It was then he felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins, his muscles tightening and expanding, and the world in front of him becoming nothing but crimson.

Naruto's hands once again gripped the pressure points on his opponents' wrists. This time he got the desired effect he was going for, Skorka screamed in agony when he felt the tiger shark's fingernails tore through his writs like they were butter, and when the blond kicked him in the face, he reeled back in pain as blood freely fell from his nose. Naruto kicked him in the face again, and again, bruising breaking, and tearing his face up until he let go. Once the student of Jinbe landed feet first on the floor, he lashed out with a double palm thrust into his stomach, sending him twenty feet away.

"You think you're tough shit, don't you Skorka? Well guess what, you're nothing more than an insect compared to my new rival…yea he may be a human as you all have heard. But he is the only person I have ever lost to, and I promised him that I would never lose again until we had our rematch." He looked down at the shark tooth hanging around his neck, and slightly smiled in remembrance.

Naruto's head then snapped up, glaring at the killer whale fishman. "And don't you dare…don't you dare mention Shirahoshi's name. You have no right."

"Yehahaha! What are you gonna do about it Uzumaki? I've seen all your attacks, you're greatly wounded. You never had a chance at beating me!" Skorka laughed.

"Who said those were my only moves asshole?" The blond spat out some blood and turned his head to see Fuguki almost red in the face. So that the plan of this 'test', he was to be weakened, have his 'best' moves shown, and finally defeated or killed by the brute of a fighter. "I still have _a_ trump card left."

"Please, your bluffs have no meaning here! You're nothing but an ant compared to me!" Skorka let out his biggest war cry yet, and charged at the blond one last time with the intention of destroying him with his Titan Fist.

Naruto only opened his mouth wide open, and used his water manipulation to draw whatever was left in him to form his ultimate technique. He then jumped forward and rotated his entire body, forming a gigantic whirlpool around his entire body. As a result the tip of the water spiral became an extension of his teeth that met Skorka's Titan Fist head on.

The result of the clash was something that no one expected. Skorka was completely engulfed by Naruto's technique, and the killer whale fishman's screams of pain nearly deafened them. The looked on with horror that the water turned into a fine red mist before Skorka was violently ejected from it, and crashed straight into an unprepared Fuguki, sending them both into the last intact coral wall.

When Iruka; and several of the other witnesses looked upon the results of the technique, those with weak stomachs lost their lunch. Skorka's right arm was gone, completely gone. All that was left of it was bits of bone protruding from his shoulder, floppy pieces of skin, and flaps of muscle. His left arm wasn't in the best condition either, most of the skin on his forearm was completely gone, and the exposed muscle could only resemble hamburger meat.

Immediately the several people tore the tops of their karate gi's off to stem the bleeding. Several more bolted from the dojo to retrieve a doctor…or dozens of doctors. And since Fuguki was out of commission for the time being, it was left to Iruka; being the second in command of the dojo to give the decision if Naruto passed the test or not. It was a moot point though since the rules stated the winner would be determined if the opponent could not continue, was knocked out…or died.

But before he could even bestow Naruto the rank of level forty…hell by what he saw the teen deserved a few levels above forty, he had one question to ask. "Naruto…what kind of attack was that?"

"That, Iruka-sensei, was my Shark Kings Water Jaw Spiral. To sum it up it's basically an attack where I combine my water manipulation with my teeth, and tear my opponent to pieces." Naruto spat to the side once again, revealing a broken tooth, blood, and some flesh on the floor.

"Naruto, if he lives after this there is no way he can ever practice fishman karate ever again."

"I don't care." Those three words struck Iruka like one of Jinbe's punches. "He took the fight way too far. Unlike him I didn't try to kill him throughout the entire match, and when he…" He couldn't finish the sentence unless his anger flared up again. Instead he looked at the bottlenose dolphin fishman, his blue eyes slowly bleeding into crimson. "I just couldn't lose, especially when it's Shirahoshi's birthday today."

Iruka could only regard the blond with a mixture of surprise, and a trace of sadness. He remembered the day Queen Otohime was assassinated, and her only daughter had to be locked away in order to keep her safe from a madman. He couldn't even imagine how hard it was on the King, let alone his children, they all put on a brave face, but not enough time had passed to heal the wounds they still suffered.

After staring at his student, the bottlenose dolphin reached into his karate gi, and pulled out a patch that had the number forty stamped on it. After he handed it to the teen he said to him, "If you're going to see her, please groom yourself a little. I doubt she would want to see her brother in this kind of condition."

If Naruto could see himself he would have seen that he held bruises, cuts, and blood on his exposed skin. His karate gi, what used to be pure white was torn, wet, and stained with blood that was and wasn't his own. When he turned to leave the blond only nodded in thanks to his favorite instructor.

* * *

><p>One hour later Naruto found that he was good as he could get after a fight that nearly killed him. The royal doctors patched him up real good; his various cuts were either stitched up or completely wrapped in gauze to stem the bleeding. His outfit consisted of a black turtleneck to cover the gigantic bruises on his neck and showed off the physique that he worked hard to gain, simple white baggy cargo pants that had the orange colored star logo for the Criminal brand on one of the side pockets and a pair of black sandals.<p>

He finally reached the entrance of the Hard-Shell Tower, and met up with the two fishman that forced him to go through all that crap just to see his sister. Almost immediately the rude one, a viperfish fishman stopped his advancement with a toothy sneer.

"Brat, we told you never to return!" The viperfish sneered.

"Actually your buddy said once I reached level forty I could see her." Placing his bandaged right hand into his pocket, he showed the fishman his official level forty patch. "And as you can see, I'm level forty, now let me in!"

"That's a fake! There is no way a runt like you could have gotten to that level at your age." The viperfish barked at him.

"It looks real to me." The other guard; a dragonfish merman replied after he looked at the patch.

"It's a fake!" Grabbing Naruto's left arm the viperfish fishman was about to use force to remove the blond annoyance. Unfortunately for him Naruto was not even remotely in the mood to deal with him, he was tired, he was still hurt, and he still had a great amount of anger in him. The viperfish soon found his right hand broken, the wind knocked out of him, and his jaw broken before blissful unconsciousness sent him off to la la land.

"You have a problem with me going in?" Naruto threatened the remaining guard after he cracked his knuckles.

"No!" The dragonfish fishman squeaked out. "Please, please go right on it." Dropping his trident he brought both his hands to the steel doors and opened then; albeit with great difficulty. Once they were open enough to have Naruto walk on through, but before the blond could even take a step both of them saw something extremely shiny from the distance.

The dragonfish fishman screamed in in horror. "It's one of Vander Decken's axes! Dammit boy you just had to make us open the doors!" He would have tried to shut the doors, if not for Naruto's interference by grabbing his shoulder and shaking his head. "What, you think you can stop it? Boy the last guard who tried to stop it was sliced in half, what makes you think you can do any better!"

Giving the guard his infamous shark-like grin, Naruto leaped towards the descending weapon. When he drew closer to it he noticed that it was a pretty large double-headed axe with a red rose design on the middle of the connecting axe heads. And with one punch of his right arm Naruto hit the blade, and the entire axe shattered to pieces. With his handy word done the blond landed on the ground, flashing the guard a superior look.

"What the? How! The last guy died doing that!"

"It's quite simple," Naruto replied once he reached the doors. "He was weak." And with that said he shut the doors behind him with ease.

After slamming the doors shut Naruto was greeted by darkness. His right eyebrow twitched in annoyance, his adoptive sister spent her time in the dark! Oh he was going to either beat, or prank the crap out of the idiot who thought it was a good idea to have Shirahoshi in the dark; especially when she was scared of it!

"Who's…who's there?" A soft, sleepy female voice said in the darkness. A bright light automatically turned on from a ginormous fancy hanging lamp, brightening the room along with several other ones along the walls. Naruto's eyes were greeted with the sight of a pink and golden room.

But after his eyes recovered from the color rape, they steeled of Shirahoshi. Good God the years had been good to her, she was bigger; given they type of mermaid she was, her strawberry-blond hair was longer, just reaching past her shoulder blades, and other than a golden halter top covered in pearls the one thing that was the same about her were her sparkling blue eyes.

"Onii-chan?" Her eyes widened in recognition, and then tears slowly made their way to her eyes. Shirahoshi couldn't believe that after six long years, her adoptive brother finally visited her. She saw that he had changed, he was taller, more filled out than the scrawny boy she remembered, more mature. "Naruto-onii-chan, is it really you?"

"Of course it is Shira-chan. Happy birthday." Naruto said with the little pet name he gave her all those years ago.

Shirahoshi cried out in happiness, her giant; but soft hands wrapped around his entire body, and pressed him against her flat chest. And Naruto, he unfortunately couldn't do jack squat about it, except let her enjoy it…not that he would deny her the right to hug her older brother on her birthday.

"Naruto-onii-chan I thought I would never see you again! Why didn't you come to see me until now!" The mermaid princess cried out with a ridiculous amount of tears falling from her eyes.

"If you stop…crushing me…I'll happily tell you." The blond gasped out when he felt his bones cracking.

Her eyes blinking in surprise Shirahoshi gently pulled her adoptive brother from her chest. Folding her palms upwards she patiently waited for the explanation he had, and when Naruto was about to tell her why it took him so long to see her when one of the iron sealed windows started shaking a total of five times.

The mermaid princess squealed in glee after the fifth 'knock'. Tipping one hand to forced Naruto to tumble into the only one keeping him in the air, she used her other one to unlatch a lock from the side in order to quickly open it. And to Naruto's surprise, a gigantic Megalodon black shark, with a white underbelly. Oddly enough he was wearing a red shirt with the Criminal fashion line logo on the front of it, and one of those bubble rings around his waist in order for him to float into the room.

"Shira-chan…what the hel-heak is that?" Naruto caught himself in mid-swear.

"Onii-chan, this is Megalo. Father assigned him to protect and keep me company. Isn't he cute?" She giggled as the gigantic creature nuzzled against her cheek.

_'Cute? It's a freaking man-eater…an affectionate man-eater.' _Naruto held in the urge to grimace when the shark licked him; leaving a trail of slime along the front half his body. _'…gross.'_ That's what he was thinking, but he dully responded. "Yea, he's real cute."

Shirahoshi giggled in response and the gigantic shark nuzzled in her lap like a cat of all things. "So, Onii-chan you were about to tell me why it took you so long to see me."

"It's a one of a kind tale; I only hope it won't bore you." Naruto said before telling her of his adventures with Jinbe, his training, saving a princess from a foreign land, and the watered down version of his fight with Ace.

"Y-yo-you got beat up?" The mermaid princess teared up when she heard that he lost the fight.

"Only a little." Naruto scratched the back of his head, "It wasn't the best thing that could have happened to me, but I got a new rival out of that encounter."

"I don't like the thought of you fighting."

"Shira-chan, I'm sorry you feel that way. But like your brothers I swore to protect you from that madman. And until that day comes I'll keep getting stronger until I know that you're safe once and for all."

"Promise?" The mermaid asked.

"The promise of a lifetime, I swear." Naruto smiled at her, and held out his right pinkie finger to show his promise. And when Shirahoshi smiled back, she placed her larger pinkie finger against his to seal the deal.

* * *

><p>It would be a few days after his promotion, and tearful reunion with Shirahoshi, Naruto was ambushed by Hody once again. Oddly, he didn't pin him against the wall and scream at him in anger, but instead he gave the blond a wide smile and patted him on the shoulder.<p>

"Word in the palace is that you're level forty. Congratulations boy!"

"Um, thank you Hody." Naruto said to his secret teacher.

"But I heard that you had a little…trouble." The great white shark fishman grinned.

"It would have gone easier, but Fuguki decided to be a dick by having the crap beaten out of me, several of my techniques being shown off to tire me out, and then sicing his lapdog on my weakened form to finish me off." The deadpan expression did not leave his face for a second when he explained that bullshit test.

"Jahahahaha! I dunno what you did to piss old Fuguki off, but he was clearly out for your blood, be careful brat he's not one to let old grudges go."

"I'm pretty sure I broke his spine when I sent Skorka torpedoing into him with my last attack."

"Naa, it'll take more than that to bring that stubborn puffer fish down. You're strong boy, but he runs the dojo for a reason." Hody said, giving a rare complement towards someone that clearly wasn't himself. "And because of that, and your accomplishment, I'm taking you to see my friends."

_'Hody has friends? As in plural…this ain't gonna end well.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

An hour later Naruto's high expectations for Hody's so-called friends plummeted when they arrived in the Fishman District. Honestly, he was hoping that he would never had to set foot in that crime ridden cesspool he used to call home ever again, but Hody hadn't steered him wrong yet…at least he never lied to him.

After walking a few miles into the place, and past his old home; occupied by some drunken octopus merman, did they finally arrive at their destination. It was a big, but shabby looking house that held four vicious-looking fishmen, that Hody introduced by name.

He first he introduced was Ikaros Much, a giant squid fishman, he was extremely tall, towering over every other member of his crew, and possessed eight arms. Each pair of arms seemed to have a corresponding pair of pectorals, as eight of them were visible on his chest. He had a long beard complete with a mustache, white skin, and a bulbous nose. On both his topmost forearms and on his belly he had dark red swirl-like tattoos, and on his right shoulder was a dark red tattoo that had the Sun Pirates' sunny rim, with a crossed out decapitated person within it. He wore a round golden colored helmet with orange goggles, with a white stripe on top of it, and a large loop earring on each ear. His clothing consisted of only a pair of orange shorts with suspender-like belts reaching from his shoulders and waist. Each of his arms had a bolted wristband and holding a long spear with a red tassel right below the head.

The second was Dosun a large blue-sinned hammerhead fishman, being only shorter than Ikaros. Being a hammerhead shark fishman, he had a head shaped like a hammer, with his yellow eyes on the edges and the top of his head being darker than the rest of his body, and long, wavy, light-pink hair reaching down his neck. His chest is wide and his arms very large, with extremely prominent, round forearms, his hands and thin legs being quite small in comparison. Protruding from his shirt was a dorsal fin he had on top of his back; and as a fishman, he had gills on his large neck. On his left arm is tattooed his crew's Jolly Roger. Dosun's outfit consisted of an unbuttoned, dark green short-sleeved shirt with many T-like motifs on it, simple light pink pants and sandals, and a large buckled belt hanging on his chest from his left shoulder. In his right hand was a large hammer with a very long and gnarled handle and a massive, dark head with the edges curved downwards.

The third was Zeo, a japanese wobbegong fishman. He was a tall and thin fishman with a strange body, covered in wavy light blue and indigo stripes, and "02" tattooed on his chest. Tentacle-like whiskers hung from his face, and unlike the other fishmen Naruto had ever seen in his entire life, Zeo didn't seem to have ears or a nose, nor did he have a visible mouth. He sported a dorsal fin, and gills on his long neck. His legs were covered by what appeared to be some sort of long inducement, with a pattern identical to his body and the same tattoo both Dosun and Ikaros had in correspondence of his right knee. Around his waist is a belt with a round buckle, and his feet seemed to be covered by black boots.

The fourth and final member was Daruma, a red-skinned and extremely small cookie-cutter shark fishman. He had circular orange eyes, a flat nose and sharp teeth; yet his arms are notably larger than his hands. On his right arm was the very same tattoo the others wore. He sported distinctive head gear composed of a hat similar to an aviator's, with two massive protrusion on both sides of his head, pointing upwards, and decorated on the front, paired with a plumed crest on top of it. He also wore a dark green, sleeveless and zipper less open jacket with a white fur collar and a pair of light blue Bermuda shorts.

"This is the brat that tore his opponents arm to shreds? Feh, doesn't seem like much." Zeo scoffed at the notion that a puny kid like Naruto could do something like that.

"Dosun! He looks like someone I could knock over with my hammer!" The ever hyperactive Dosun exclaimed.

"…I just met you guys, and already I hate all of you." Naruto deadpanned, much to Hody's delight.

"Well I don't like you either!" Daruma gnashed his sharp, pointy teeth at the blond. "Just looking at you makes me want to gnaw on your bones."

"Don't make me set you on fire you little pipsqueak." Naruto threatened the smallest fishman out of the bunch.

Ikaros Much only screamed in fear, and surprise at the word 'fire', and curled himself backwards; ironically looking like a dried squid. This caused both Hody, and Zeo to laugh at his pyrophobia.

"Why did you bring me here Hody? What is your reason to bring me to this…cesspool again?" The blond narrowed his eyes.

"It's quite simple, kid I want you join my crew." Hody responded with a gleeful smile.

"…say what now?"

"You heard the Captain boy; he wants you to join us in our holy quest to right the wrongs the kingdom did to its citizens." Zeo said to the teenager.

"Wrongs? What is going on in your head? King Neptune has done right for entire kingdom." The back of Naruto's conscience however said differently. "…hasn't he?"

"What do you think?" Hody growled at him. "Neptune used to be a warrior we all looked up to, but once he married Otohime he went soft on us. See the Fishman District?" The great white shark swept his right arm outwards showing him the broken down, garbage strewed, violent district that they all came to know growing up.

"We are all orphans like you Naruto; our parents were either captured by pirates and sold into slavery, or died. Neptune promised us that we would be well cared for, but look at us!" Hody raged at his secret student. "Like you we were forced to fight in the pits, committed crimes just to not become a corpse in the gutter, and the best life we got was to become soldiers for his army. Well I'll tell this much I'm not being a soldier for him any longer!" Ripping the helmet from his head Hody threw it against one of the damaged buildings, leveling it. "Instead, I'm becoming the leader of the New Fishman Pirates! I'm taking up Fisher Tiger's dream of protecting our home though extreme means, and showing Neptune that his wife's vision was wrong!

"But we cannot do it alone. Naruto, I need you to be by my side, with the power of the Sea King inside you we will be unbeatable! No longer will children have to cry over the loss of their parents! No longer will we have to listen to Neptune's lies! We will become brothers in arms for a common goal that we have desired for years. But this can only happen if you join us."

Hody's speech struck a deep cord within Naruto's entire being. It was because of the humans that all of them suffered from their greed. What could have become of them all if that didn't happen? The blond certainly didn't know, and Neptune…his wife was murdered by the humans for simply trying to coexist! Why didn't he seek revenge? Didn't he love her enough? Didn't he care that his children were now without a mother? Didn't he give a damn that Shirahoshi couldn't stop crying for days because of it!

That was when he knew that Hody was right. With his power they could change things; they could stop their species from becoming playthings for the humans…hell when they gained enough strength they could destroy the Tenryubito!

"You're right, I cannot in good conscience let the humans get away with their crimes…or the Royal Family continue their incompetence. I'll join you Hody." Naruto said to his new captain.

Unbeknownst to him, Naruto fell right into Hody's trap. With a simple speech, and several lies he brought the teenager over to his side. With a cruel grin widening on his face Hody couldn't wait until the seeds of hatred bloomed within the blond.

* * *

><p>(Two years later)<p>

"My ministers, I must confide something with the both of you." Neptune confessed to his most prized advisers while he sat on a gigantic back whale with a crown on its head and a bubble ring around its waist in order for it to float.

The Minister of the Right could only raise an eyebrow. He was a muscular seahorse merman, having ridges along his back and the sides of his face that protruded underneath his trimmed white beard, as well as a curly orange tail like a seahorse rather than a standard merman's fishtail. His mouth also protruded forward like a seahorse's. His attire consisted of a jacket with two circles and a band on each sleeve. His jacket's sleeves are very large on the end. He held two weapons on his person, one being a katana on his left hip and a trishula-like trident gripped in his left hand.

The Minister of the Left, a short, peach-skinned rotund catfish merman with light blond waist-length hair that included a long beard and, like a catfish, two large whiskers for a mustache. He wore a royal purple robe, and an over-sized top hat. The merman adjusted the monocle on his left eye, and shifted his wooden cane that had a horned design on the top parts to adjust his weight. "What is the problem distressing you my king?" He asked.

"It's Naruto."

"Oh yes your adoptive son." The Minister for the Right said. "Last I heard he reached level sixty in the dojo, and I heard that those of the lower levels and even those of the higher ones highly respect him. Quite the feat for one his age isn't it?"

"Yes, I am proud of him for that…but for a while now I've noticed that he has been very cold towards everyone, he's no longer making friends, and he's been pretending us; his family doesn't exist. Instead he spends every waking second working to improve his skills...or visiting Shirahoshi, the only person he even smiles at. And he is showing clear aggression towards humanity. I'm truly lost on what to do about him."

"Your majesty, Naruto can't be that bad. I know that he's been training himself to the bone, but he doesn't seem that different to me." The Minister of the Right said.

"You don't understand. He's been that way since he became level forty in the dojo. I don't know what happened, but he's changed, he's going down the dark path my wife tried to prevent." Neptune pinched the bridge of his nose to stem the headache coming on.

"Your majesty your fears are just. But Naruto is a responsible lad, I'm positive that he's not doing anything that would shame our beloved late queen." The Minister of the Left assured the stressed out king.

Unfortunately for Neptune's stress levels would spike with a messengers sudden arrival with a large package in hand. "Pardon me your majesty. But I just received this package from Jinbe, and it's addressed to your adoptive son. Is he available?"

Neptune sighed tiredly as he slumped further into his whale, a sudden package for his adoptive son was not something he needed right now.

"Fear not your highness, I will fetch young Naruto. Please relax yourself." The Minister of the Right baded his king before departing from the room.

* * *

><p>For the minister it took him over two hours to find the blond. He wasn't in the palace, the dojo, or even in Madam Shyarly's cafe…though she seemed to be oddly tight-lipped about the teen; it had to have been one of her predictions, and probably a scary one at that.<p>

It wasn't until he found himself in the Fishman District, and the sea horse merman couldn't hide his disgust. He had heard the rumors of how…horrible the place was, but dear God the rumors didn't do the place justice. He passed by several rundown houses, unconscious or dead bodies, he could have sworn he saw a sleazy-looking merman selling something illegal to a very skinny fishman. It wasn't until he passed the famous ship called Noah that he heard cheering and the sounds of fists pounding against flesh.

"It couldn't be." The Minister of the Right whispered to himself. He parted past several eager, and cheering fishmen outside of a large building. He held in a grimace when he saw that it was full of smelly, and dirty patrons sitting at tables enjoying bottles of booze as they watched the fight in front of them. Swallowing the bile rising in his throat the minister witnessed the finishing move of the two combatants inside the steel cage.

"Whirlpool Breakthrough Fist!" The familiar water tornado encasing Naruto's bandaged right fist slammed into the torso of a bulky Goliath tiger fish fishman, sending him through the steel, blood-stained cage the arena into several patrons and into the wall where he was knocked unconscious.

The crowd cheered in glee at the victory, while others groaned in defeat as they tore up the tickets in their hands. While Naruto; the victor of the match calmly walked out of the hole and marched over the bar of the joint. He collected his winnings from a pudgy merman, slapped a single beli bill onto the counter in front of him, reached behind the counter to produce a fairly large green bottle, bit the cork off, spat it out, and took a big swing of the alcohol within it before collecting his vest and walking out the swinging doors.

"Naruto! Naruto wait!" The minister hollered as he followed the adoptive son of Neptune out the door. "Naruto, please wait!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

When his screaming got the teenagers attention, he chucked the empty bottle against the wall of a shack and turned to face the minister.

Naruto grew a lot in the last two years under the combined training of the New Fishman Pirates, and the instructors of the Fishman Dojo. He grew to the height of five foot eleven; a small height for an average fishman, but he made it up by having a muscular body. It honestly surprised how well defined the teenager was, if he could compare him to anything it would be the marble statues within the palace. Attire wise, he wore a black vest that comfortably had a slit in the back for his tiger striped dorsal fin and opened to show off his pecks, abs, and that shark tooth necklace he always wore; simple white baggy cargo pants that had the orange colored star logo for the Criminal brand on the right side pocket and a pair of black open-toed sandals. There was a black belt with a silver belt buckle that depicted an angry shark on it that diagonally hung at his right hip with a white pouch hanging from the back of it.

Naruto's blue eyes stared at the minister with disinterest, and swiped his bandaged right hand through his spiky blond hair; revealing a tattoo on the underside of his tanned right forearm. It showed a detailed dagger piercing through a pure white human skull. "What is it you want, Minister of the Right?" He questioned the seahorse merman.

Gulping down the lump in his throat, the merman told him why he came to fetch him. "You have been summoned by your father due to a package arriving from Sir Jinbe."

"Master Jinbe? It haven't heard from him in two years. What does he want with me?" The blond questioned him with a frown at the mention of his other teacher.

"He sent you some sort of package, it looked important so I came to find you."

"Did you open it?"

"Of course not!" The minister looked offended at the accusation. "It has not been opened or tampered with in anyway. Before I left I heard King Neptune order the servant to take it to your room, that's all I know."

"…fine. I'll go take a look at it since it's _so important_."

* * *

><p>Once the pair arrived at the palace Naruto immediately headed towards his room. It was there he first reached into his desk to retrieve some training tape to cover up the tattoo Hody persuaded him to get as a reminder of their "bond" to remember the promise he made regarding his loyalty to the crew. It wasn't that he wasn't proud of the tattoo, but it was because he was going to visit Shirahoshi today, and he didn't want her to know that he had it.<p>

Then spotting the package on his bed he tore it open to reveal two eternal poses' and a letter. Raising a blond eyebrow he read it over, and frowned with every word.

_Naruto, first of all I would like to congratulate you on your most recent promotion, you're becoming the man I hoped you would be. This is why I am hesitant to ask you of this task. Naruto do you remember the stories I told you of the Fishman Pirates?_

The blond raised an eyebrow at the odd question. Of course he remembered the stories of that legendary crew, especially the actions and death of Fisher Tiger. He also remembered several notable crew members like Aladdin, Jinbe himself, and Arlong; the older brother of Madam Shyarly.

_After Fisher Tigers death, one of the crew members tried to exact vengeance of the village that sold him out. He was soon captured, and released several years later…I knew what he was capable of, I knew what he would become a monster if I let him run loose, but I let him go instead of dealing with him. And now I've come to regret my decision once learning that he took over an entire village, and bribing a Marine Captain to keep everything hush-hush. Now I cannot do anything despite my position as one of the Shichibukai regarding him without proper evidence other than the words of an intoxicated Marine officer. Naruto, I ask of you to take care of him in my steed, I won't force you do it but these two eternal poses' will guide you there and ho-_

Naruto crumpled the rest of the letter and tossed it away. His eyes burned in fury at the request The Knight of the Sea asked of him, he left without a word for two years, no letter, no all form a den den mushi…nothing. And now that he finally heard from him, it was a request begging him to take care of his problem! How pathetic! Especially when Arlong was the one to teach Captain Hody the truth of humanity.

He stopped his mind ranting for several seconds though to calmly rationally think. One part of him; the primal part was raging at the outrageous demand, but his rational side was screaming at him to do the right thing. Arlong didn't have the best reputation, even in the violent Fishman District, he was known for having a violent temper, and killing anyone who annoyed him…so with him taking over a human village how many innocent men, women, and…and children did he kill?

"Damn it, damn my bleeding heart." Naruto growled at himself, scooping the eternal poses' into his right hand, he placed them into the white pouch secured at the back of his belt. "All right Jinbe, you win. I'll clean up the mess you made. But don't expect me to do it for you; I'm only doing it to ease my own conscience."

After retrieving is gigantic axe from the blacksmiths, and paying the man for some minor repair work to it; along with him adding a heavy ball and chain at the loop of the anchor, he went to see Shirahoshi like he planned. After bypassing the guards and leaving his axe at the entrance of the weapon ridden tower, Naruto was immediately greeted with a hug by the mermaid princess, and pressed against her budding bosoms.

"Naruto-onii-chan! You came back; oh I never thought I would see you again!" Shirahoshi cried out in happiness.

It was the ritual for these two. Naruto visited her as much as he could, it was usually two times a week, but if it was longer than a week she got all clingy…not that he minded it of course, she gave the greatest hugs. Gah! Stupid hormones, that's not the type of mindset he needed right now.

"Shira-chan, of course I would see you again I always do don't I?" Naruto gave her his infamous shark smile.

"I'm sorry onii-chan, but I-I got a feeling that I won't see you for a while." And once again tears fell down the eyes of the highly emotional mermaid at the mere thought of not seeing her favorite brother again. "I don't know what I would do without you!" Dammit, and it didn't help that Megalo was nuzzling the two of them like a cat while she hugged him with near bone crushing force.

Carefully placing his hands where he would not accidentally grope her, Naruto pushed himself away and spoke over her loud crying. "Shira-chan I keep telling you that I will always come to see you. I made that promise two years ago, and I'm never one to break a promise remember?"

That seemed to perk the pinkette right up; wiping her tears away she nodded in response. If there was one thing about Naruto, it was that he always kept his promises, and only something beyond his control could only force him to break it.

"Now Shira-chan, I need to tell you that I'm going to be gone for a little while. Master Jinbe has asked me to do something of vital importance for him." When he saw her about to tear up, he quickly hopped into her outstretched hands and jumped up and down, making himself look like an idiot, but preventing her from crying again. "I won't be gone long, two weeks at most I swear."

"You promise?"

"I promise, Shira-chan. I will return to see you."

After giving her one last hug; well what they both considered a hug from him at least, Naruto departed from Shirahoshi's room with the both of them smiling. It was a shame that they wouldn't see each other for a very long time.

After leaving the Hard-Shell Tower Naruto was about to leave the castle entirely before a regal voice caused him to stop in his tracks. With an eyebrow raised the blond turned around to see Fukaboshi for the first time in years. He had grown larger in both height, and in muscle, and his blue hair went down to his waist.

"Naruto do not leave the palace." The elder brother said to his adoptive sibling.

"Sorry _big bro_, but I have a mission to do for Master Jinbe. And if I want to make my two week deadline, I would like to leave now." Naruto rudely replied to the shark merman. But before his hand could even press against the wood, he was restrained by both Manboshi and Ryuboshi when the both clutched their hands on his arms. "Oh what is this, three against one? That certainly isn't royal behavior."

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun, but father wishes to speak with you." Ryuboshi apologized.

"Neptune can bite my dorsal fin. Now let go before I have to hurt you." The blond tiger shark warned them.

"Naruto-kun, please don't make this any more difficult than it already is." Manboshi begged his adoptive little brother.

"I warned you." Naruto brought his opposing palms towards the stomachs of the two mermen, forced two droplets of water into his palms, and shot of the devastating water bullets with enough kinetic force to dislodge the two brothers from his arms, and violently slammed them into the palace walls.

After he was free Naruto bolted towards Fukaboshi who was ready for the attack. The shark merman's heels of his palms pressed together the first prince drew in the moisture from the air, then he shouted. "Ultramarine!" Fukaboshi hurled the great amount of water forward in mighty, extremely large torrents towards his adoptive brother.

Unfortunately for the first son of Neptune, Naruto used his own water manipulation to bring the water into his fists. Letting out a loud yell of defiance he formed the water into the heads of megalodon sharks, "Devouring Twin Shark Fist!" He bellowed and with precise control the mouths on the heads opened wide, and without mercy he literally tore into Fukaboshi's skin, tearing the flesh on his arms and barrel chest wide open, forcing the first prince to scream out in pain until the technique ended as soon as it started. As the water dropped to the floor, he was hit with a wicked right hook that broke his jaw.

When the son of Neptune fell flat on the floor, he painfully looked up at his adoptive little brother, and winced when he scowled down at him. "Naruto…how…why?"

"I hate it when I'm interrupted Fukaboshi, you would have known that if you were around more. That's the why, as for the how…well its simple _big brother_ I'm simply stronger than you." He knelled down, glaring at his torn bleeding form. "Also know this, I spared you. That technique I created was made to tear my opponent to pieces. It was only due to Shira-chan that you breathe at this moment, now remember that before you try anything like that ever again!"

With his peace said, Naruto yelled for the servants to get the doctors before opening, and slamming the doors with a loud slam. Leaving a teary-eyed Fukaboshi to reflect on his failure to protect his younger brother for falling down the wrong path his mother warned him about.

* * *

><p>After leaving the palace, and the entire kingdom itself Naruto found himself at the entrance to Fishman Island. He was hoping for a quiet send off, but to his surprise Hody was at the gate waiting for him.<p>

Gone was the royal armor his Captain used to wear. And instead he sported a pink newsboy cap, with a little trident represented on the left side, bearing a resemblance to the red trident he had clutched in his right hand, and a massive scarf seemingly made from a dog-like animal around his neck, with the animal's head hanging on the left side of his chest. He wore a red open shirt with short sleeves, a wide collar and dark-red spots on the lower part that exposed his fat belly which revealed a scar along the lower part of his belly and the jolly roger on the right side of it, he also wore short blue trousers with a similar pattern but with light-blue spots, a pink sash tied around the waist, and black sandals. But new thing Naruto noticed was a black tattoo of a saw-nosed shark turned to the left with the tail curving inward; the jolly roger of the Arlong Pirates…his target.

"Hello Captain Hody, how are you today?" Naruto greeted his Captain with his shark-like smile.

"Heard that you were going to leave the island on the orders of Jinbe. Mind telling me why you neglected to tell me; your Captain this?" Hody growled at the blond.

"Sorry Captain, it was on such short notice…plus we didn't have anything planned for the next two weeks, so-" Naruto didn't get the chance to finish when the great white shark fishman slammed him against the wall, it hurt a little bit, but by now he was used to his Captain's anger issues concerning him; plus the fact that his axe absorbed most of the impact helped a lot.

"You. Do. Not. Leave. Without. Telling. Me!" Hody yelled at his subordinate.

"Sorry boss it won't happen again, I promise. But can you please let me down? I have a schedule to keep, and I already sent my three _brothers_ to the hospital because they delayed me." The blond replied in a flat voice, honestly hoping that news calmed his Captain.

And it did, in fact it calmed the captain of the New Fishman Pirates. He patted the seventeen year old on the shoulder with a smile, and reached into his pocket, producing a small black sack that he put into his hand. "Well don't take too long all right, and if things get too rough for you take these, they'll help you out in a pinch and make you stronger like they did me. And remember," He tapped his bandaged right forearm. "You're one of us now, never forget that."

"I promise I won't Captain. I'll return soon, I promise." Beading his Captain goodbye, Naruto soon left out of the airlock; his destination set to the Konomi Islands.

* * *

><p>The Fifth Rider of Armageddon: Hey folks...been a while hasn't it? Well I'm still alive, as for this entire Administrator scare well it might be over since I'm still here. But if not, I have all my stuff saved and am ready to go to .com same name and all that...or something close to it if the original is unavailable. Also all but one of Naruto's Fishman Karate moves goes to Agurra of the Darkness, but a nice amount of his pure water manipulation moves goes to me...mainly because they are the water ninjutsu's that Kisame and other shinobi with water affinities use that I'm blatantly ripping off, it's a crossover for a reason.<p> 


	6. Mission Complete

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece. If I did, then...well check this chapter out, this would make those 4kids assholes shit their pants!

Talk: "Talk"

Think: _'Think'_

* * *

><p>A week passed since his departure from Fishman Island, and Naruto found himself annoyed as he stared at the eternal pos pointing him in the direction of the Konomi Islands. So far his journey took him away from his home, straight out of the Grand Line, and landed him in the East Blue of all places. Thankfully for the blond he didn't encounter any pirates, Marines, or dangerous sea creatures along the way. He ate passing fish raw, slept on the sea floor when he got tired; it was smooth journey…except for one thing.<p>

"I hate navigation. Whoever invented it is an asshole." Yep, Naruto was many things, but a navigator he was not. He couldn't count how many times he got lost due to powerful currents sending him off course, and when the eternal log pos showed him his destination he arrived at the wrong island, twice!

But his journey was at an end; at least he hoped it was when he emerged from the sea. After blinking the sea water from his eyes he saw, with irritation that the part he landed at had houses flipped upside down like an angry child turned them over in a temper tantrum.

"That's definitely the work of a fishman, and I'm betting it was Arlong." Naruto looked serious for several long seconds before blowing a raspberry. "Is that supposed to be an achievement? I can easily do that with one hand." And to prove it the blond used only his right hand to turn the nearest house right side up, and because he was bored he flipped all the other houses back to their rightful positions before he strolled away in search for an intact village.

It would be an hour later when the tiger shark fishman found himself in a place called Cocoyasi Village. To his pleasant surprise it was…nice looking. Granted it wasn't anything close to the beautiful coral and shelled homes, but it was nicely built; you know by humans.

"I haven't seen you before stranger; tell me what is a youngster like yourself doing here?" A thick voice questioned him from behind.

Turning his head Naruto saw an average sized human wearing a brown police uniform with short sleeves and pants, and a yellow pinwheel on top of his police cap. He was pretty average-looking especially with that epic black mustache, but his entire body was covered in dozens of stitched scars.

"Well I heard that this was a lovely village, and decided to take a look. And I must admit…it's a decent enough village." Naruto replied, but it was pretty rude for the police officer.

"Oh it was quite beautiful, at least until _your _kind showed up. Tell me boy, so you know what kind of misery Arlong and his crew have brought us?" The police officer narrowed his eyes, and the two were slowly becoming surrounded by various villagers.

"Not really, and honestly I don't care." The blond glared at him.

"Then why are you here? If you're going to join his crew, then we-" The villager was interrupted by Naruto's loud laugh that chilled his bones.

"I will never join the likes of Arlong, but if you could kindly point out his residence to me, then I will happily be on my way."

"Then what do you plan on doing? Try and talk him into leaving us, you're preaching the quire kid, Arlong will never let us go." A cynical villager barked at the blond

"Like I said, I don't care." Naruto repressed the urge to growl at the villagers. "Just tell me where I can find Arlong so I can get out of here."

"Head to the Tangerine Grove and ask for Nojiko, she will tell you where to find him." The police officer said to him.

"Ugh, fine be that way. I'll talk to this Nojiko person, but hopefully he or she will be better help than all of you assholes." Naruto spat to the side and left the villagers behind him.

* * *

><p>After a half hour of searching Naruto eventually found his way to a quaint looking place at the top of the hill just outside the village with the tangerine grove growing in the back. The tiger shark fishman made his way to the front door and knocked three times before being greeted with a flintlock pistol in his face, "I already paid my fifty-thousand beli, go away!" A female voice greeted him.<p>

"I'm not here for any money, and I'm not from Arlong's crew. Some asshole police officer sent me here so you can answer a question on mine." Naruto snatched the gun from the woman and tossed it over his shoulder in disgust. "Also if you're going to use a gun, be sure to use it."

After the gun was dealt with Naruto looked upon his 'attacker'. She had green eyes, bluish hair with a red tie keeping bangs from her face. She wore black pants and a yellow sleeveless top that showed off a tattoo that reached from her shoulder across her chest. In her other hand was another flintlock pistol that was thrusted against his throat. "Then what do you want fishman?" She demanded.

"Nojiko is it? Is there any way you can not threaten me with that gun, I'm only here to talk." Naruto bordly said, but he really didn't like the fact he had a gun at his throat.

"Drop the axe and we'll talk fishboy." When Naruto pulled the gigantic anchor turned axe from his vest, that was once again interwoven with small but very powerful magnets, he dropped it to the ground with a loud crash that left a small crater in her front yard. "Good God, how heavy is that thing?

"It used to be an anchor." The blond admitted much to her surprise. "That's all the weaponry I have, I swear. Now can you please let me ask my question?"

Nojiko sighed and moved out of the doorway, "Fine, but I don't want anyone seeing you. Get in here." Rolling his eyes Naruto walked inside so he could get his mission done and over with.

Once he was inside the adoptive son of Neptune took in what used to be a nice home. It was roomy enough for two, maybe three people, with well-worn, second hand furniture. But when he sat in one of the chairs within the kitchen Naruto felt how comfortable it was. And when the bluenette sat across from him, pistol in hand he asked what he wanted to hear. "The police officer told me that you had some information concerning your _problem_."

"It's a problem you can't solve." Nojiko narrowed her eyes.

"Maybe not for a human, but for a fishman like myself I can deal with him. The problem is…I'm new to this entire area, and I need to find where Arlong is so I can go home. So can you help me with this?"

"Why are you so determined to do this? Many people have tried to defeat Arlong, and each and every time he comes out victorious. The Marines are in his back pocket, the villagers are afraid to death of him, and bounty hunters who come around become food for his sea monster. Why are you so adamant about throwing your life away?"

"First off I'm not throwing my life away, and I will not lose to the likes of him." Naruto assured the woman, "And I'm doing this because a man who had a hand in my training begged me to do it. He wrote in a letter that his former crew mate committed many atrocities on this island."

"That is an understatement!" Nojiko snapped at him. "A month ago he had his sea monster destroy Gosa Village, three years ago he killed my friend and her entire family when they couldn't pay his outrageous taxes, and on the first day…" Tears fell from her eyes when she recalled her worst memory, "On the first day he arrived in my village, he shot my mother right in front of me and my little sister before forcefully taking her into his crew as a slave."

When Nojiko finished her tale of woe Naruto found himself thinking of the day Otohime was assassinated right in front of Shirahoshi and the others. And his parents, his people in general being sold into slavery, that hit him right where it hurt when he saw the tears running down her eyes. God seeing her like that caused him to remember the pain and misery the World Nobles brought him, and seeing the misery one his own kind brought upon what used to be such happy people…it just didn't sit right with Naruto at all.

"Tell me where he is. I'll stop him once and for all."

"And how do you plan on stopping him huh? Do you plan on taking on his entire crew? How do you plan on beating his lieutenants? Can you even count yourself strong enough to even beat him!?" Nojiko seemed almost hysterical. A Water Shot putting a hole through one of her walls shut her up.

"I will ask you one last time, where is Arlong!?" Naruto snarled at the woman with his anger barely contained within his voice.

"Arlong Park, its two miles to the south of the village."

"Thank you, now was that so hard?" The blond asked before he reached into his pouch and pulled out several bills before slapping them on the table. "Sorry about the hole in the wall, this will be more than enough to cover the damages, who knows there might be enough to buy yourself a nice dress."

After removing himself from the kitchen and from the house, Naruto picked up his mighty axe and left to finish his business with Arlong. It was a shame that his journey would take a turn for the worst because of it.

* * *

><p>After storming through the village and running the two miles as instructed, Naruto found himself standing outside the gates of Arlong Park. In his opinion the blond thought the entire thing looked like a complete eyesore, seriously that tower was obnoxious, after he dealt with Arlong that thing was becoming rubble…man he had a lot of destructive urges to deal with.<p>

Before he could open the gate it was opened for him to reveal an average-sized woman with orange hair that reached to her neck, and light brown eyes. She wore a green camisole top with dark green flower shapes, tight black shorts with two yellow rings on the sides, and light orange high-heeled sandals. Clutched in her bandaged right hand was a wooden bo staff.

"Thank you I was just about to enter," Naruto thanked the woman, but before he could enter the park she slammed the gate shut. "Well looks like I have another moody _bitch_ on my hands."

The orange-haired woman didn't answer instead she narrowed her eyes; almost as if she was trying to analyze him. Several heartbeats later she finally spoke, "You're not one of Arlong's crew."

"No shit Sherlock, what gave me away? Was it that I'm the new guy on the island, or was it that lack of his jolly roger on my body?" The blond snipped at her.

Crossing her arms over her somewhat impressive chest, the woman glared at him. "Well then what are you here for fishman? Have you come this way to join his crew, or to die?"

_'I swear if one more person…'_ Holding the violent thoughts in his head, Naruto calmly responded to the woman. "I've come for neither, and what the hell is a human doing with the likes of him?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She turned her left shoulder towards him, showing him the tattoo of Arlong's Jolly Roger. "I am part of his crew."

"As what? A punching bag or a slave?" Naruto's sharp teeth gleamed in the sunlight, so this was the sister Nojiko told him about. But then again it wasn't too hard to figure it out since she came out unharmed.

And apparently his slave remark struck a chord within the orange-haired woman. "Sh-shut up, I'm not his slave! I'm his Chief of Staff!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night _slave-girl_." The blond continued to taunt her.

"Don't you call me that, my name is Nami. Remember it you stupid fish!"

"Like I care about your name, now move out of my way I have a job to do."

"Fine! Just don't expect me to cry over your mangled body once Arlong is done with you!" Nami huffed and trotted away.

"Geez are all human women this bitchy?" Naruto grumbled to himself before he opened the gate and slammed it shut behind him.

* * *

><p>(Fishman Island)<p>

Meanwhile on Fishman Island Neptune was once again sitting in his sons' hospital room. His mighty shoulders were slumped; his head bowed, and parts of his once orange beard had tiny slivers of gray. He honestly couldn't believe that his adoptive son would do something like that to his siblings. Ryuboshi and Manboshi got off easy with a few broken ribs. But Fukaboshi, with all the deep lacerations on his muscular body and several broken bones, he was going to be out of commission for several months.

"Aladdin, how could it come to this?" He asked the doctor overseeing their treatment.

"You and I both know the reason. The Queen's final wish has been wasted on that boy; take a look at what he's done. After all the love, attention, and training you get rewarded with three wounded sons." The goatsbeard brotula merman scornfully replied.

"Please don't be too hard on the boy. The power of the Sea King is a terrible burden, it draws upon raw emotion. If the person is angry, he will involuntarily lash out without meaning to, and if he's sad it'll bring him into a spiraling depression. That is what I was going to tell him before he left to always maintain control of his emotions."

"A lot of good that did." Fukaboshi; the only conscious brother, barely managed to wheeze out due to his broken jaw.

"Try not to talk my prince," Aladdin admonished the blue-haired merman. "Your jaw is still broken in four places, and I would hate to sedate you, and wrap your entire face to prevent any further damage."

"Sorry…I just…" The shark merman winced when he felt the bones on his jaw shift. "I just have a bad…feeling. I feel that we…won't see him…for years."

"Just rest easy. I will send a letter to Jinbe. Hopefully he can knock some sense into that boy." Neptune promised his son.

_'I'm sorry father, but I think it may be far too late for that.'_

* * *

><p>"Well who do we have here?" A deep, arrogant voice greeted the blond after slamming the gate shut.<p>

Naruto didn't answer at first. Instead his blue eyes scanned the thirty crew members; they were probably tough as nails, but paled in comparison to the three lieutenants and the target he was gunning for.

He first took note of a muscular sandy-haired, blue-skinned, smelt-whiting fishman. He had the Arlong Pirates Jolly Roger tattooed on his right shoulder, wore a white beaded necklace, a striped blue vest, and plain sandals. Judging by his thick lips he was a long distance fighter.

The second was a white-skinned ray fishman. He had the typical appearance of a martial artist, with a dark blue gi and a black belt, his black hair was tied into a long ponytail. What Naruto found odd was the Sun Pirates tattoo is on the right side of his chest, he honestly hoped he would be a challenge if he had to deal with him.

The third was pink-skinned octopus fishman wearing a yellow and brown striped outfit with a baby blue sash tied around his waist. He had six muscular, suction cupped arms, and an octopus-like face. His grey hair was styled with five spikes, and planted right on his forehead was a tattoo in the shape of a sun on his forehead, son of a bitch he was a part of the Sun Pirates as well?

The fourth and final person was Arlong himself. He was a large, muscular, and light blue sawshark fishman whose most distinctive trait was his saw-shaped nose. He had long, black hair sprouting from the back of his neck, reaching down to his shoulders, under a brown ushanka, covering his head. He had a fin on his nape, surrounded by his hair, and the gills are located on both the sides of his neck. His Sun Pirates tattoo was on the left side of his chest, while his own Jolly Roger was on his lower left arm.

His attire was composed of fashionable, light clothes, reflecting his _rich_ status. He wore a sleeveless, unbuttoned yellow shirt decorated by many black lightning-like spots, Bermuda shorts that were a puke green color, a purple sash around the waist and simple sandals. He was also sporting a lot of jewels: like the golden chain bracelet around his left wrist and two golden bracelets around each ankle, with straw-like decorations hanging from them. Good God, Naruto never wanted to punch a person so much in his entire life!

"Hey boy, are you deaf, what the hell are you doing here!?" Arlong bellowed at the blond.

"I'm here in regards of The Knight of the Sea, "Saw-Tooth" Arlong you are under arrest." Naruto boldly said to the fishman, "However, I'm willing to disregard these orders if you join my Captains crew."

"Shahahahaha!" Arlong bellowed in laughter, causing his entire crew to laugh along with him. Apparently it was one big joke to the ruler of the island. "That is a good one boy! Oh, I haven't laughed like that in years. Now be serious, what are you here for?"

"I'm being serious here Arlong. Before I left Fishman Island, I saw my Captain with your Jolly Roger tattooed on his forearm. He never told me about you, and it would put me in better graces with him if I recruited you and your crew to our cause. If not…well I have my orders, so it's a win-win situation for me."

That statement caused Kuroobi; the ray fishman to raise an eyebrow. He could have sworn the young man in front of them was a human. "You're from the island? You certainly don't look like a fishman to me boy."

Glaring at him, Naruto turned to the side to show the dorsal fin sticking out from the back of his vest, which was resting comfortably next to the handle of his giant axe. "As you can see, I'm a fishman." He then flashed his sharp teeth at them. "I believe that proves I'm of your species."

"I'll be damned, a half-breed." Chew; the smelt-whiting fishman whistled in astonishment as if he was viewing a rare species.

"I'm not a half-breed you gay asshole!" It took a lot to make Naruto mad, and being called a half-breed was one of them, pointing to his gills on his neck and the thick black tiger stripes on his arms he said. "I'm a full blooded fishman, the proud son of a fishman and a mermaid."

"Whatever kid. I hate to tell you this but your journey was a complete waste of time. Now why don't you go away and cry to your mother."

"I don't have a mother to cry to. I have not cried since both my mother and father were taken from me, and when Queen Otohime was assassinated."

That last bit of news stunned the members of the Arlong Pirates. Queen Otohime was dead? A couple of them felt a twinge of loss, she was a good woman; for a mermaid that is. Arlong however smiled at the news, and he even gave a big belly laugh afterwards.

"Shahahahaha! This is great news, boy you do not know how much her speeches annoyed me. Equality with humans, what a joke! A good human is a dead human, especially what they did to Fisher Tiger!"

"The loss of Fisher Tiger was a great tragedy for our kind." Naruto agreed with Arlong on that statement, after all one didn't train under Jinbe without hearing stories of his old crew, especially the legendary Fisher Tiger. But his blue eyes turned to ice when he badmouthed the queen. "But I suggest you watch your mouth, you do not disrespect the honored dead."

"Our Captain can disrespect anyone he wants to you little twerp! Now get the hell out of here while we're still in a good mood!" One of the crew members bellowed at the tiger shark fishman.

"And you can bite me!" Naruto angrily retorted. "I'm not leaving until-" The blond didn't get a chance to finish his sentence when he was forced to jump away from a speeding water bullet that left a nasty hole in the ground. Once he landed he glared at the smelt-whiting fishman who was puffing his cheeks for another shot of water.

"Don't miss him this time Chew." Arlong ordered.

"Water Gun!" Chew gurgled before he spat a shot of water from his mouth at high speeds and pressure. It was a simple, but deadly technique that was compared to a flintlock pistol's bullet. Naruto however stood his ground, forcing a droplet of water into his right palm; he shot off the water bullet straight at Chew's water technique.

The two techniques impacted each other for several seconds before Naruto's destroyed the Water Gun bullet. The water bullet hit Chew's forehead with devastating impact, and the smelt-whiting fishman blinked twice, feeling the warm watery blood from the inch-wide, perfectly circular hole pouring from his forehead before slumping over, and hitting the floor dead to the world.

"Kill him!" Arlong bellowed.

Gripping the handle of his axe, Naruto pulled it from his magnet interwoven vest, and swung it at the first charging fishman, cleanly cleaving him in half. Another fishman pulled out a flintlock pistol and shot at him, the blond lowered his giant axe, deflecting the bullet, and grabbing the chain he swirled it and the fifty pound iron ball at the end of it in the air, launching it into a devastating wide arc that caught several unsuspecting fishmen by surprise. The iron ball hit one unfortunate fishman in the ribs, shattering them into splinters that penetrated his organs, while the chain swept four of Arlong's crew members away from him; cutting an unfortunate one in half.

His eyes hardening in anger at the whelp harming his crew, Arlong turned towards Hatchan; the octopus fishman. "Hachi, call in our pet. This brat is a dangerous one."

The octopus fishman look at his Captain, stunned that they would call their beast out so early. But is it was necessary to prevent any more losses of his friends he had to do it. Bringing his four hands to his mouth, he screamed out into the ocean, "Come on out Mohmoo! I've got an extra snack for you today!"

Naruto had to hold back a wince when he heard Hachi's voice, it was just that damn loud! But incidentally it also held off his attackers, they all had wide, vicious smiles on their faces; that honestly couldn't have been good news.

Barely ten heartbeats later a gigantic form emerged from the sea. It revealed a giant white and green patched sea cow. He had a big round nose with a gold nose ring, cow-esque face and horns, with flipper for feet and a tail that allowed him to swim fast…but to Hachi's surprise the thing already had a lump on its giant head.

"Ahhh! Mohmoo what happened to you!?" He then turned to Naruto, who was looking at them like they were a bunch of idiots. "You! What did you do to Mohmoo!?"

"Me? I didn't do shit to him. And what the hell? You guys have a freaking sea cow, the most useless beast of the sea. For the love of God, my father used to hunt those for the restaurant before he died!"

"Don't insult Mohmoo!" Hachi screamed at his enemy. "Go on boy, get him!" When nothing happened the octopus fishman looked to see the gigantic sea cow cowering, and crying when he looked at the blond. To the sea cow the tiger shark fishman just reeked of anger and hate, and his self-preservation instincts were screaming at him to not fight him.

"Don't do it cow. I'll eat you if you do." Naruto threatened the sea creature.

"Mohmoo what are you doing?" Arlong's voice caused the creature's spine to straighten, the blond was scary, but Arlong was also just as terrifying. "Don't just sit there, deal with that brat!"

Mohmoo looked back and forth between his master, and the scary tiger shark. The beast was beginning to sweat in fear, he was stuck in between a rock and a hard place, and both would hurt him no matter what he did.

"Mohmoo." Arlong spoke in a threatening tone.

The sea cow knew that he couldn't defy his master; he knew that Arlong would provide a vicious punishment upon him if he didn't follow his orders. So hoping that the tiger shark fishman would have some sort of mercy upon him, he turned toward Naruto bellowing a loud, "MOOOOO!"

Naruto shook his head with a frown on his face, what a stupid creature. "You are screwed. You know that right?"

* * *

><p>(The outskirts of Cocoyashi Village-Five miles away)<p>

Meanwhile within the outskirts of Cocoyasi Village, the members of the Straw Hat Pirates learned the truth about their certain orange-haired navigator's betrayal. From what they learned, Nami was forced to join Arlong's crew after he over took the village and murdered her adoptive mother, and the only way to free herself and the island was to buy it off the cruel fishman at the cost of one-hundred million beli.

Nami had save up to ninety-three million beli, almost enough to buy their freedom, but then Nezumi; a corrupted Marine Captain ransacked her home under Arlong's order, shot her adoptive sister, and stole her stolen; but hard-earned funds. Now she had nothing, and out of anger sliced into the tattoo on her shoulder in a desperate attempt to be rid of it.

It was only due to her Captain, Monkey D. Luffy that prevented her from mutilating herself any further. He was a relatively normal-sized muscular human with tan skin, messy black hair, and black eyes. His attire was extremely simple which consisted of blue cutoff jeans, sandals and a buttoned up sleeveless red vest. He also had a scar with two stitches underneath his left eye, and his signature straw hat was upon his navigator's head for the time being.

The first mate of the crew leaned against the nearest tree after hearing the tale of woe. He was Roronoa Zoro, an average sized, muscular young man with lightly tanned skin and cropped green hair. His current attire consisted of an open, navy blue shirt decorated with light blue whirlpools and visible bandages to cover up a newly received wound. He wore black trousers tucked inside black boots with a pure white sword bundled up with a green haramaki over his right hip. He had three identical gold earrings on his left earlobe, and a black bandanna tied around his left bicep.

The sniper of the crew was Usopp, a slim, somewhat dark-skinned teenager with medium-length black curly hair and a long nose. He wore of an olive green plaid bandanna, a blue and white striped armband on his left arm, special sniper goggles, brown overalls with a white sash and no shirt underneath. He also carried a yellow satchel with him that held various tools, and of all things, a slingshot as his weapon of choice.

The final member of their crew was their chef named Sanji, a slim, yet muscular, long-legged young man with blond hair that he kept brushed over the left side of his face to reveal black eyes, and an odd curly eyebrow. He was dressed better that the rest of his crew mates wearing a black, double-breasted suit with a black tie and long-sleeved blue pinstripe shirt. Currently he was smoking a cigarette that was nearly down to the butt.

Nami looks up at her former Captain, a man she betrayed, stunned that he place his most prized possession on her head. His black eyes burned in in fury at what Arlong did to his friend.

"Nami, leave this to us. Arlong will pay for what he did to you." Luffy said to his crew mate.

"But you can't fight him, he's too strong! Another guy came to tried to do the same thing, and he's probably shark food by now." Nami begged Luffy to reconsider, before she could continue a gigantic looming shadow appeared above them, and at least half the crew screamed in terror when the gigantic shape crashed where they were standing barely ten seconds ago.

"What the hell is that!?" Zoro demanded.

"Hey wait a second, Luffy it's that cow that we beat up." Sanji pointed at the unconscious sea creature.

"What the-impossible!" Nami exclaimed deliriously. "Mohmoo…how? We are at least five miles from Arlong Park, what kind of monster can throw something that heavy?"

"Maybe it was that guy that you told us about?" Zoro said.

"No way, even if he is a fishman there is no way he could do that."

"Only one way to find out, come on guys we have Arlong's ass to kick!" Luffy happily exclaimed before running off to where he saw the giant sea cow fly from.

Sanji only sniffed the air and look towards Usopp. "Did you shit yourself?"

* * *

><p>(Arlong Park)<p>

"Dear God in heaven," Hachi whispered in disbelief.

Naruto pulled off what most of them thought was impossible. He survived Mohmoo's infamous belly flop of death, he actually _lifted _the sea cow over his head, and threw the beast away, destroying the gate and half the trees surrounding Arlong Park in the process.

That was not all. His muscles were bulging, not the athletic type, but the body building type. And his eyes, once blue at the sea itself were nothing but pure crimson. Naruto snarled at the grunts and raised both his arms, calling upon the water within the pool of Arlong Park. And just like in his fight with Ace the water obeyed his manipulation, four water spirals spinning in motion to the point where it was nothing but compactly pressured water spears.

"Water Fang Bullet!" He bellowed, thrusting his arms outwards, and the spinning water drills surged fourth, impaling several members of the crew. After four of the fishmen fell down dead, the ones with pistols aimed and fired at the blond. Instead of hitting him the tiger shark jumped into the air and dived head first into the ground.

"Where did he go!" One of the crew members cried out in fear.

"I don't know!" Another screamed before dropping his flintlock pistol, and drawing his cutlass.

"Oh man we're screwed. Did you see that kid, he ain't normal." Another fishman holding a dagger sweated.

"Relax, we're back to back, there is no way that-"

The words died in that fishman's mouth when Naruto's body exploded from underneath their feet. The three fishman screamed in horrific pain when they fell prey to his Shredding Shark technique. It was a simple technique that had Naruto spin extremely fast forward-or in this case upwards with his dorsal fin in front turning his entire body into a high speeds that ripped apart anything it touched. And well…they were considered nothing more than scraps of meat when Naruto was done with them.

That was the scene that the members of the Straw Hat Pirates-minus Luffy who got lost on the way, several villagers, and Zoro's former bounty hunting partners; Johnny and Yosaku saw the carnage the blond was inflicting upon Arlong's crew. They also saw him hurling his gigantic axe, slicing apart two more unfortunate fishmen while the iron ball crushed another's head, and the chain tore an unfortunate clown fishman's arm off.

As he descended Naruto opened up his mouth, and unleashed a powerful jet of water at his victims. And the villagers, many of them who were prepped for revolting against the crew looked on in horror and disgust when the water obliterated the first unfortunate fishman, and then proceed to devastate the entire area around them. After he ceased his attack Naruto rotated forward, building up extreme speed building and momentum until he slammed into the one-armed fishman with both of heels screaming, "Double Spiral Axe Kick!"

A few people actually fainted when the one-armed fishman exploded into a shower of blood, and Naruto left a ten foot crater of blood and organs. Spitting to the side the blond brought up his right arm, and gave the three remaining members of the crew a 'come at me' gesture with his hand.

It was Kuroobi who rose to the challenge; rushing at the blond he raised his right arm to hit Naruto with his One-hundred Tile Punch, an attack strong enough to send his opponents flying. Naruto easily ducked underneath it, nailing him with his own punch right in the ribs, sending the ray fishman flying away from him instead.

After skidding to a stop, Kuroobi held his right side gingerly, after one punch he could feel at least three broken ribs. "Impressive young one, you managed to beak three of my ribs. That hasn't happened since Fuguki-sensei beat the unloving hell out of me in my first days at the dojo."

"Yea, that puffer fish was always a cruel teacher." Naruto agreed with him.

"Oh, so you're a student of Fishman Karate as well. For one as young as yourself you have to be at least level twenty-eight." Letting go of his ribs the ray fishman ran at him once again, "Too bad you're no match for a level forty like myself!"

_'Level forty? Geez he fights like a level ten.'_ The tiger shark fishman thought to himself. He met Kuroobi head on; he punched out with his right fist, only for it to be deflected by his opponents left palm. So Naruto tried to nail him with a left openhanded strike, but to the ray fishman grabbed his fist in an iron grip, twirled on his right heel, and slammed the back of his left arm-fin into the back of his opponent's neck.

Naruto let out a strained cry of pain when he felt the pressure against his neck. Most of his body lost sensation as he was flung forward, and hit the ground rolling. He coughed several times just to get his breathing under control. He had taken many beatings in his life, and he always got back up from them, but this was something very different.

"That was my Arm Blade Slash boy," Kuroobi said with a smug grin. "Many fighters don't know this, but the back of your neck is very important. If your neck takes too much abuse, like what I just did to you, they could lose sensation in their bodies, or even become paralyzed." He walked over towards his downed opponent and picked him up by the neck, "Fortunately for you I didn't feel your spine break, but you're extremely numb aren't you?"

"Actually…I feel rather refreshed," Naruto smirked at him, which was wiped off when the pale fishman backhanded him. "Aww was that supposed to be a love slap? Sorry but I don't swing that way." His smart mouth was rewarded with another backhand, this time dislodging some teeth.

"Tell me boy did it please you to kill my crew mates? To butcher them like animals, you may be one of my kind, but even we are more humane than you!"

"Really? If you're so _humane_ then why come to this stupid island? Why charge outrageous taxes to these people? Why recruit a _human _into your crew, and why shoot her mother with a _gun_ right in front of her? Tell me is that humane, I call it cruelty." Naruto spat into his opponents face.

"That is none of your concern!" Kuroobi rose his right fist, "You should be honored boy, not many get a chance to witness my ultimate instant kill technique, the One-thousand Tile Punch!" Then he punched at his face to finish him off.

Or he would have if Naruto didn't scream out "Wrath of Jaws!" He opened his mouth wide open, and bit down on his opponent's clenched fist, biting everything off at the knuckles.

The shock of losing all of his fingers involuntarily caused Kuroobi to release his opponent, and grab the stumps of what used to be his fingers. This gave Naruto his chance of taking his opponent down; clenching his right fist he punched the ray fishman in the knees, shattering the bones and forcing him to kneel. Then he punched him in the shoulders, rendering his arms useless due to even more shattered bones. If not for his strained throat Kuroobi could have screamed his lungs out, but instead he could only look into his opponents eyes.

Spitting the fingers from his mouth, the blond looked at his defeated opponent. "You may be level forty, but that is no match for a level sixty like myself." Naruto said shocking the injured fishman, "And to truthfully answer your question, it does not please me to do this to my kind. Rest peacefully knowing that fact." His final words said to the ray fishman, Naruto delivered a devastating punch to Kuroobi's sternum, shattering ever his entire ribcage with the kinetic force of the technique. "Five-hundred Tile Break." He heard his opponent say his devastating technique.

Falling onto his back Kuroobi couldn't help but think of the power that young man had, his last punch was perfect, and he died knowing that he was bested by the better opponent.

* * *

><p>On the sidelines Genzo placed one of his hands on his scarred face, the police officer felt the sting of that particular fishman's swords that scarred him for life. And for eight years he still felt the pain he gave him with each and every wound on his body, but now that he saw him dead on the ground he felt the pain from his wounds finally leave him. And tears came to his eyes, oh God it was such a relief.<p>

But for Nami, it was a complete shock. Kuroobi was the second most powerful fighter in Arlong's crew, and to be taken down by some no name shark fishman that looked almost human…it was almost inconceivable. And for the first time in her life she felt something he almost forgot about: Hope.

"Arlong!" A familiar voice alerted the crowd, the members of the Straw Hat Pirates turned around to see their Captain racing towards the scene.

From the look in his eyes it was something akin of tunnel vision. And knowing Luffy he didn't see the carnage in front of him, the tan tiger shark fishman, or any of them in particular. All he saw was the monster that hurt his friend. Luffy jumped over everybody with ease, screamed his lungs out at Arlong to fight him, and then was promptly backhanded by the blond fishman; sending him through whatever was left of the gate…and through the village where they heard the shattering wood from several houses from two miles away.

"Don't interrupt my fight!" They heard him scream at the teenager's flying form.

_'That might teach my idiot Captain a lesson…I hope.'_ Zoro thought to himself, while Usopp looked flabbergasted at what he saw.

* * *

><p>After backhanding the rude human out of the park, Naruto turned towards the last remaining members of the decimated crew. This time it was the octopus who charged at him with six swords of all things. He began swinging all six swords wildly, forcing the tiger shark to frantically duck and dive away from the sharp blades. When Hachi swung all six arms diagonally, the blond fishman had to backflip several times until he reached his axe.<p>

"Back down octopus, my beef is with Arlong, not you." Grabbing the handle of the weapon with his right hand and the chain with his left, he gave a threatening gesture by swinging the ball and chain.

"I will not!" Hachi cried, actually cried with tears pooling down his face. "I cannot let you go, not after what you did…Chu…Kuroobi. We…we were going to open a takoyaki stand together, and you killed them! I cannot allow you to live! Zero Visibility: Hachi Ink Jet!" The octopus fishman spat out a stream of black ink at the blond.

"Shit!" Cursing Naruto sprinted to the side to avoid the attack that was obviously meant to blind and incapacitate. If he was hit, that was it, game over, if he couldn't see he would not have been able to get to the pool to wash off, and with those six swords he would be considered nothing but sushi. So to try and make things even he opened his mouth, and forced a large torrent of water at the octopus fishman, mixing ink and water together.

It soon turned into a battle of wills between the two, water and ink trying to overpower each other. It was the blond who trudged on forward, trying to overpower his opponent until he was five feet away. His respect for the octopus went up a notch, because people couldn't stand up to such a powerful stream of water, and trust me many tried to duplicate that technique, and failed miserably.

Gripping the handle of his axe, Naruto swung it to cleave his opponent in half. But Hatchan pointed all his swords together out in front of him with their back edges all pointed to each other and arranged in a circular array over his chest to block the attack. The two cut off their attacks, and began a desperate struggle to overwhelm each other.

It wasn't until Hatchan split his swords apart, which caused Naruto's weapon arm to go wide, leaving him defenseless to a devastating headbutt to his chest that flung him into the air. "I got you now! Taste the fury of the second best swordsman on Fishman Island!" Hatchan bellowed, "Six-Sword Style Ultimate Technique: Six-Sword Waltz!" Spinning all six swords over his head like a fan blade, he was intending on shredding his descending opponent to pieces.

As Naruto fell to the ground he swung his axe in a last ditch attempt to defend himself from the onslaught of blades. Now either it was the purest luck or something else entirely, but when the double-headed axe hit the fan of blades, they all shattered into pieces.

Hachi looked at his broken blades in disbelief, and then he looked at Naruto giving him his infamous shark-like smile. "If you survive this, open that stand of yours." After saying his final words to the octopus fishman, the blond delivered a wicked uppercut, and sent Hachi flying out of Arlong Park and into the sea.

"Huh, didn't think that would happen." Naruto said to himself before turning towards Arlong, "But now that everyone else out of the way, it's just you and me Arlong!"

"You…you brat!" Arlong snarled, finally standing from his throne. He couldn't believe it, his entire crew was gone, wiped out by a no name brat. "How dare you!"

"Oh how dare I?" Naruto mocked the enraged fishman. "How about this, how dare _you_. You were nothing more than a small fry on Fishman Island, constantly picked on, then you left and formed what used to be the Arlong Pirates, joined the great Fisher Tiger, and then got your sorry ass arrested after he died.

"After getting released you got into one last fight with Jinbe, and after he beat your sorry ass into unconsciousness to the point where you needed to be _carried_ off, you arrived at this island. And from what I've seen you just bullied the weak into doing what you wanted. You may be 'the most powerful pirate of the East Blue' where it's considered the weakest part of the ocean, but all I see in front of me is a bitch!"

Naruto's rant was the last straw for the sawshark fishman roared in fury. "Shark on Darts!" Arlong used his powerful legs to lunge at the blond like a torpedo with his unbreakable nose. He was fast, but his speed obviously dwindled while he ruled the island, having Naruto barely dodging the attack with his honed reflexes.

When Arlong crashed into the nearest wall Naruto kept up his insults to further enrage his opponent. "You know, Master Jinbe told me a lot of stories during our times on the surface, interesting stuff by the way," He paused to leap out of Arlong's attack, and getting a small cut on his side for his trouble. "Is this all you can manage? How the mighty have fallen!"

"Shut up you brat!" The sawshark bellowed. Reaching underneath the back of his shirt he pulled out a flintlock pistol, but before he could even get a shot off he was greeted with a punch to the mouth that shattered all his teeth, throwing him backwards into the gigantic building he used as a headquarters.

Picking up the dropped pistol Naruto growled just seeing the damn thing. "And to top it all off you're using a _gun_, does it make you happy to use something that can easily end someone's life?" He crushed it in disgust and threw the remains to the side. "Fisher Tiger would be disappointed in you, especially lowering yourself to the Tenryubito's level by forcefully branding you mark on another living being. You're lower than scum!"

* * *

><p>On the sidelines the villagers looked on in a mixture of awe and hope. The once invincible Arlong, their tyrant of eight years who once was like an angry God was now…there just wasn't a word to describe what they were witnessing.<p>

Nami in particular was feeling her heart thumping against her chest. Never did she think that Arlong, her long time tormentor could be fought, let alone hurt. And when she saw said fishman bursting out of the building wielding a gigantic black pole with six saw-toothed patterned black blades, resembling a shark's saw-like teeth.

"The Kiribachi (Saw Shark), look out!" She screamed at Naruto.

* * *

><p>"Well this has escalated quickly." Naruto said with his shark-like grin. "Awesome, I always wanted to see how my Saibannin Kayiouumi (Judge of the Ocean and Sea) could stand up to another weapon." Readying his gigantic anchor axe, the blond blocked the zanbato classed sword with the side for the axe head. The two weapons clashed in a horrible screech of metal, sparks flew from the side of the axe, and Arlong laughed.<p>

Naruto however narrowed his blue eyes and did the unthinkable. He let go of his weapon, bolted forward, and shoulder tackled the sawshark fishman. The force of the blow shattered some of Arlong's ribs, causing his to cough out in a mixture of surprise and pain when they both smashed through the wall of his headquarters.

Once inside the dining area they both rolled around in a fit of violence, their fists striking each others sides, their knees striking whatever they could, hell Naruto even managed to bite into Arlong's chest and completely tore the sun tattoo from his flesh. That devastating action caused Arlong to roar out in pain and fury before slugging Naruto right in the mouth, and sending him into a table.

"You. Fucking. Insect!" Arlong bellowed at his assailant. His webbed hand going to his chest to futilely stem the bleeding from the loss of his tattoo, "That tattoo meant a lot to me!"

Flipping the busted section of wood off of him, Naruto stood glaring at his target. Spitting the flesh onto the floor the blond grinned mockingly at Arlong. "You don't deserve something like that. As I recall Fisher Tiger never once did anything more than beat the crap out of people, he never killed one, let alone enslave them. You're nothing more than scum Arlong."

Snarling in response Arlong regrew his shattered teeth, then he yanked them out of his mouth, regrew them again, and pulled them out, after regrowing them one last time he assaulted Naruto with the snapping weapons. Fully knowing that getting hit by one of them would hurt Naruto ducked and dived out of the way; Arlong lashed out with one of the teeth-castanets and took out a chunk out of a wooden pillar.

"Shit!" Rolling away Naruto planted his feet on the ground, and back flipped several feet away until he found himself behind the bar. From there he found the bottles of booze and began throwing them at the sawshark fishman. Several of the bottles missed the charging fishman, but when he got close Arlong was nailed on the stomach, his right leg, his left arm; causing him to drop his tooth-weapon, and even once on his nose. But despite glass piercing his flesh and the blood running down his body he grabbed Naruto by the throat before he could throw another bottle of booze at him.

Giving the blond a vicious smile of victory, Arlong wasted in no time in piercing Naruto's right side with his tooth-weapon. He reveled in the agonizing look that was given when he did so, but it quickly died when the wine bottle in Naruto's right hand smashed against his head. He screamed when he felt the glass tear into his skin, and through his right eye; blinding him. He then screamed even more when the neck of the shattered bottle plunged into his neck, right where his internal carotid artery was.

Feeling his opponent's grip slacken, Naruto pried himself free. Afterwards he curled his right fingers and punched Arlong right in the stomach, after making contact he fully formed his hand into a fist putting more power behind the attack, sending a great deal of kinetic force through Arlong's body, shattering several bones. "Thousand Tile Shatter Fist!"

If Arlong didn't know pain by this point he certainly knew it by now. He screamed until his voice became hoarse when he felt his guts turn to mush, and his bones shattering. He felt his feet leaving the ground and blasted through one of the walls and into the courtyard once again.

* * *

><p>On the outside of the building the citizens of Cocoyashi Village held their breaths in anticipation. For the past five minutes they heard nothing but the sound of fists against flesh, screams of anger and agony, and what sounded like breaking glass.<p>

It was around that time when a bruised Luffy joined them, who in turn had to be held back by both Zoro and Sanji. He was extremely pissed off, not by the way he was backhanded by the blond, but how he was stole his fight with the jerk that dare hurt his crew mate. It was only when a bloodied and battered Arlong crashing through the wall did he stop shouting.

Arlong was a literal wreck. His left pictorial muscle was nothing more than a mess of hanging meat, his right eye completely gone, glass jutting from left arm and his right leg and whatever was left of his stomach...and was that the neck of a wine bottle sticking out of his neck? The worst was his entire torso; several townsfolk lost their lunch, or fainted from the sheer multitude of bones jutting out from underneath his skin. And despite all those injuries Arlong was still _alive_.

Coming out of the hole in the building was the fishman who started the fight. He looked worse for wear with several parts of his pants slightly dirtied and torn from their fight from the inside, and the right side turning a fine crimson color due to the blood dripping out of the wound that still held Arlong's set of teeth. The tiger shark was also bruised in several areas, especially in his neck area where it looked like he was strangled.

Grabbing a hold of the teeth in his side the fishman pried them off his side with a grunt, and tossed them to the side. He was in pain, after all he was 'bitten' by possibly the strongest teeth of Arlong's generation, but it didn't stop him from spitting to the side before opening his broken-toothed mouth. "And so ends the mighty Arlong, it's a shame that it had to be like this my Captain-"

"Fuck your Captain!" Arlong coughed out a massive amount of blood. He could feel the bone fragments in his pierced lungs, he could feel the blood pooling around his gigantic frame, but he honestly couldn't believe he was dying because of Jinbe's no-name attack dog and whoever his Captain was. "And fuck you too! You cannot beat me I'm the invincible Arlong! I single-handedly took over this pitiful island, I command the most powerful fighting force in all the East Blue! You can't beat me you no-named bastard child!"

After his speech Arlong began choking on his own blood, and fury coursed through Naruto's veins. His eyes began to turn crimson once more, this muscles bulging once more, adrenaline coursing through his system. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, you son of a bitch!" He then turned around and with a great amount of effort he pulled the wooden building straight from its foundations. Naruto's arms were shaking like crazy, his legs nearly bucking from under him, but he didn't care, he just wanted to kill Arlong in the most inhumane way possible. "And I suggest you remember that when I send you to hell!"

"Oh my God! Run for your lives!" Genzo screamed.

"Awesome!" Luffy screamed out in excitement.

"Run you idiot or you'll die!" Zoro grabbed his Captain by the back of his vest, and dragged him away from the area.

"You run faster swordboy!" Sanji shouted with several of the unconscious civilians on his shoulders.

After they somewhat cleared the area of soon to be devastation, Naruto slammed the building down on Arlong.

* * *

><p>"God, what a mess." Zoro muttered before chucking a large wooden beam away from ground zero.<p>

"Hey! Watch it moss-head!" Sanji bellowed at his crew mate after he dodged the beam.

"Knock it off you guys! We need to find that blond guy!" Luffy scolded the first mate and cook of his crew.

It took fifteen minutes for the dust to clear after Naruto literally dropped the huge-ass building on the most hated being on the island. Then almost immediately the good people of the village began searching for the fishman who saved them from the tyrant. Now was it weird that they were looking for a fishman? Yes. Was it somewhat ironic? Pretty much. Did they care? No, no they did not. To the men, women, and children of Cocoyashi Village the blond fishman was their saving grace, and they would be damned if they didn't do everything in their power to save him even if he was a fishman.

"Hey! I found something!" Usopp bellowed from his area.

Both Luffy and Zoro made their way over to the area their sharpshooter managed to clear. It wasn't the body of Naruto or Arlong, but their two weapons. Zoro tried picking up the anchor axe and actually found himself actually _trying_ to lift it. He knew that the fishmen were strong, but damn the tiger shark was around their age and could lift the damn thing with ease? It made him feel weak…or was that the sudden blood loss from his popping stitches? Yea, it was probably the latter.

After setting the thing down where it belonged for now, the green-haired swordsman made his way over to their navigator. She seemed stunned, and he couldn't blame her, after eight years of servitude for a monster like Arlong and finding yourself free, it could be a lot to take in.

However before he could give her consoling words a guy like him could offer, they all heard a loud clapping sound. They turned to see Captain Nezumi of the Marines. He was an average-sized man with the appearance of a rat with whiskers on his face with a minor brown soul patch on his chin, and rat ears attached to his marine cap. His uniform consisted of a long-sleeved white Captain's coat, black pants, and nicely shined black leather shoes. And surrounding him was a ship full of Marines, and the cabin boy carrying a large sack on his back.

"Well isn't today my lucky day? I had the chance to watch a very interesting fight from the beginning to the end. However no one will believe that a lone fishman would single-handedly defeat Arlong and his entire crew." He then began to crackle, the sin of Greed oozing from his entire body. "And because of this, every single beli in this village will be mine! Drop your weapons, I, Captain Nezumi of Unit Sixteen will be happy to accept all of the treasure!"

Before he could give the command to his men to open fire, declare this horrible tragedy the work of the now deceased Arlong, and take the credit for killing him himself. A bandaged tiger striped arm burst from the rubble and latched onto his face. The rat-like man screamed in horror and pain as five fingers dug into his skull.

His assailant was none other than Uzumaki Naruto. He looked like an absolute demon, his eyes crimson, blood pouring from his wounds, and his muscles budging in anticipation. "So…you're a Marine Captain? Huh, all I see is a corrupt piece of trash!"

"Get your hands off me you stinking fish!" Nezumi managed to wiggle his mouth free of the blond's hand. "My men will shoot you if you try anything!"

"I doubt that." Naruto gave him his infamous shark-like grin. His teeth were still cracked and missing, but he simply regrew them, causing Nezumi to urinate himself. "After all we're near my element." Focusing on the water around him, Naruto fell within himself to shape and control the water all around him. His eyes flashed once, and he struck. Water drills erupted from the pool, the various puddles he created from his fight, and even the ocean around them. Dozens upon dozens of spinning water drills impaled the Marines Nezumi brought with him, all of them died due to a single strike to the heart, leaving only the sniveling human in his hand, and the cabin boy who lucked out and fainted at the last second.

"P-p-plea-se, don't do this! It wa-s all Arlong's idea, he bribed me. Co-me on, I have a family! You can't do thi-s to me!" Nezumi begged.

His plea for mercy was ignored when Naruto said, "I honestly don't give a damn." And crushed his head with his hand. After dropping the lifeless body to the ground he spat on the corpse. "Scum like you deserve a special place in hell."

Moving his head to the side he looked at the villagers and saw a mixture of horror and glee plastered on their faces. "What?"

"You killed them!" One of the villagers bellowed in horror.

"Well what do you expect? Those assholes were going to ransack your village, steal everything of value, and more than likely murder you. Now where the hell is Arlong?"

"Hold on kid let me take care of that wound." Doctor Nako reached into his medical bag and produced a role of gauze and a bottle of disinfectant.

"Na I'm fine," Naruto dismissed the doctor before he reached into his right pouch. "this isn't the first I've gotten hurt and I got some-fuck!" He sharply withdrew his right hand and found his fingers dripping blood and had some small shards of glass protruding from them. His eyes widened in alarm and unclasped the pouch and emptied it onto the ground.

"No…" Naruto couldn't believe his rotten luck; not only were his gauze wrappings useless, but both his eternal log pos' were destroyed, the only thing left was the pouch Hody gave him. "God dammit! Arlong you son of a bitch!" He began raging and cursing at Arlong, causing several people to back away before he went on a rampage.

Zoro watched in amusement when the blond stomped over to his anchor axe and the strange sword Arlong wielded. He raised an eyebrow when he somehow managed to sheathe the giant blade on his back without a scabbard, but that didn't matter when he saw him lift that gigantic axe with ease and began to destroy the area around him.

It wasn't until the blond found the body of Arlong that he remotely calmed down. Just seeing his crushed frame, and the flagpole speared through his heart. The fishman was dead, deader than dead, but seeing the corpse just infuriated him. "Arlong you asshole!" Naruto harshly kicked the corpse, rewarding his efforts with a sickening crack of bone, "You destroyed my only way to get back! How am I supposed to get home?! You fucking fuck! You fucking fucking fuck!" He delivered a kick each time he swore, causing many of the women to become appalled by the vulgarity, and former sailors scratch the back of their heads in embarrassment.

After finally running out of breath and getting tired of kicking the corpse, Naruto gripped the handle of his axe, lifted it overhead, and brought it down on Arlong's neck. After spitting on the body one last time he picked up the head by its hair. "Hey any of you jerks have a sack I could borrow?" He asked one of the villagers.

It was Nojiko, her shoulder wrapped in gauze from where Nezumi shot her who picked up the nearest sack she would find. After handing it to the tiger shark fishman he looked at the dismembered head as he put it into the sack and tied it around his belt.

"Thank you for that, but I must be going." Naruto thanked the bluenette, he turned to leave but her hands gripped his right forearm.

"You can't go, not with those wounds." She protested.

"I will be fine," Naruto tried to put up a tough front, but once she poked the area he was bitten, he barely held back a wince.

"See, you aren't in any kind of shape to go. Doctor! Can you get over here-" She was interrupted when Naruto jerked his arm from her grasp.

"I don't need your help; I would rather die than be treated by a human."

"Then why did you help us?" Genzo demanded, "You came out of the blue and destroyed our oppressors. For that we thank you, but it is clear you don't trust us, or you downright hate us. Tell me boy why did you do it?"

"Isn't it obvious? I was ordered to clean up the mess my master made, and that's exactly what I did. I couldn't give a damn about you or your plight." Naruto scoffed at the policeman's stupid question. Turning his back one them again, he began his trek towards the ocean when he was once again held up.

This time it was the doctor. An old man wearing a white doctor's coat with black glasses and an awesome gray mustache and goatee combo with a black bandanna on his head. He gave him a stern look before opening his pouch and deposited several rolls of gauze, a bottle of disinfectant, some painkillers and antibiotics. After snapping the pouch shut he said to him, "You may not want a human treating you, but you can treat yourself. Just think these as a thank you gift from us."

"Fine…if it means that much to you." Though he didn't want to admit it Naruto was grateful for the kind gesture. After all, that was all the medical supplies he had on him and whatever the hell Hody gave him. He would dress his wounds later, that entire pouch was specially made to be air tight so nothing could get wet.

"Hey wait a minute!" Naruto cringed in anger at being interrupted from leaving _again_. "Shark-man join my crew!" It was the Straw Hat kid, what was he insane? Like he would ever join a human crew.

"No." With his peace said Naruto jumped into the ocean before he was interrupted again.

* * *

><p>Two days later Naruto unfortunately found himself completely and hopelessly lost. He came upon several small and deserted islands to take care of his wounds, but other than that he found no other signs of life anywhere. Damn that Arlong, damn his rotten soul to hell.<p>

After several more hours of swimming Naruto saw a sign of hope, a ship, wait it was actually three ships docked on an island. Finally! He could find out where the hell he was, and if they didn't tell him what he desired…well he could beat the crap out of them until they told him what he wanted.

Emerging from the water he was about to bellow where the hell he was, but instead he smelled blood and death. "Dear God, who died here?" Walking to the shore he was greeted with the bodies of hundreds of butchered Marines. "…oh shit."

Covering his nose to ward off the stench the blond he took in the scene of carnage. The Marines were killed with a bladed weapon…no make that weapons, and they died quickly based on the wounds slicing through the major blood vessels and major organs. It also seemed that whoever killed them was fast, unnaturally fast due to the way most of them were sprawled out in the sand. Also their weapons were destroyed, curious.

After finding no more clues on the beach Naruto went to the biggest ship in the area. And sure enough he found more dead Marines with the same type of wounds, and their weapons also destroyed. "Hmm, where is the Captain? He has to be around here somewhere." He mused to himself.

The tiger shark fishman searched the entire ship until he found the Captain's quarters. The door cleanly chopped in two he stepped inside and found the deceased Captain. However unlike his subordinates he was beheaded and his cutlass was cut into six pieces. The hell? There had to some sort of explanation…but it wouldn't be in there, the smell was killing him.

After stepping outside and jumping onto the beach the blond headed further inland. It was a forested area, very beautiful, almost as beautiful as the underwater sea trees, and the best part was that there were no dead bodies. It was tranquil, calm even, much better than Arlong Park and the Fishman District. But when he walked further in the peaceful tranquility began to lessen, slowly becoming replaced with anger and malice.

"I do not like this." Naruto said to himself. The feeling within the forest was becoming tainted with each and every step he took; damn it all it was starting to creep him out.

"You shouldn't," A quiet monotonous voice answered him.

Snapping his head towards the voice, Naruto saw a man roughly around eighteen years of age. He had long straight sand-colored hair with pale grey eyes, his body was of slim build, and wore blue navy slacks, black shoes and a simple tan shirt, draped over his shoulders was a blooded white Marines jacket. Strapped to his belted hip was a Marine-issued sabre, but clutched in his hands was a katana with a black scabbard, the guard was bone white with four crescent moons that covered the dark maroon handle, and a crimson tassel hung from the end of it that held a small ceremonial bell attached to it.

"And who the hell are you?" Naruto demanded.

The stranger stood to his full height of five foot ten and started unsheathing his katana. Then suddenly he disappeared causing Naruto's eyes to blink in surprise, and reappeared in front of him with the tip of his blade to his throat. "Your death."

"Son of a bitch."

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Hey everyone I'm back!...again.<p>

Pvt. VFSNAKE: Dude, where the hell have you been?!

Armageddon: Well I moved to a different place last week, and I've been trying a new way to get my stuff out faster. You see I've been writing one story every single day.

Pvt. Liquor: What?"

Armageddon: Uhh maybe that wasn't the right word. What I did was I spent one day writing out Spiraling Shark, and another for Heir of the Juppongatana, and another for Hell Sharingan V2. You know that kind of stuff so I can get them out sooner.

Pvt. Fox: Did it work?

Armageddon: Partially, I got real into this fic and spent the last couple of days finishing it. Hopefully my other stuff can come out soonish, because you know...life and shit can distract me and all.

Lt. Doom: Well you got loyal fans who will always wait for you, and appreciate all the crap that come out of your head.

Armageddon: I know they do, but I bet they're wondering, "Who the hell is this person?" Well folks it's a character created by Agrurra of the Darkness, and that's all I'm saying for now. Tune in for the next chapter of Spiraling Shark to find out what the hell happens next!...man I sounded like that announcer from Pokemon, not cool man, not cool at all.

Random Guy: Nerd!

Armageddon: *shoots him* Ahhh, much better. Now I put a lot of work into this chapter, so tell me what you liked or didn't like about it.


	7. Well this was unexpected

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece, if I did...well either I would be a banned writer or a celebrated on for this chapter.

Talk: "Talk"

Think: _'Think'_

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><p>"Listen buddy you don't want to do this," Naruto brought his hands up to show he meant no harm. His blue eyes looked downwards at the blade and saw that it was ebony black with a blood red vein going through the middle of it. "I'm just some guy who got lost on his way home. I don't care that you killed these asshole Marines, just leave me be and no one gets hurt."<p>

"Lies, all lies." The strange teen muttered tiredly. "You're nothing more than a mercenary hired by the government. They want you to kill me, but I won't let you…I can't let you."

_'This guy is fucking loopy.'_ Naruto thought to himself. It was obvious this guy had several screws loose, and with the bags under his eyes and the rumbling of his stomach, he guess that what whoever he was had been on the run for days, if not weeks.

"Listen, I don't know what your damage is but-" A powerful jet of water exploded from his mouth. At point blank range the teenager should have been obliterated, but instead he disappeared and Naruto had to roll to the side to avoid a slash from the katana in his right hand.

"Damn it, you asked for this!" Gripping the handle of Saibannin Kayiouumi he gave a powerful swing of his arm, the swordsman blocked it with his katana, but he underestimated the sheer power of the swing. He was easily lifted off the ground and slammed through one of the ships.

"Take that you bastard! No one threatens Uzumaki Naruto and gets away with it!"

The blond was rewarded with his advisory reappearing behind him; it took all his honed reflexes to jump out of the way to avoid getting bifurcated at the waist. Damn it all to hell, how was he doing that? There was no way a normal human could be that fast…wait a damn second, no _normal human_. Son of a bitch! Swinging his axe to block against the sword, Naruto growled at the sandy-haired teen. "You're a damn Devil Fruit-user aren't you?"

"That is correct. I ate the Flash-Flash fruit, and I won't bore you with the details, but-" He disappeared and soon reappeared behind the blond. "all you have to know is that I'm faster than you." And proceeded to slash at his back.

Twisting his hips, Naruto barely managed to avoid getting cut and bounded away to get some breathing room. This was not good, he was facing an opponent who was as fast as sound, and he was still recovering from his injuries with Arlong and his crew to boot. However, he noticed the sandy-haired bastard sweating and barely holding himself steady. He was on his last two legs, all he had to do was keep dodging and give him one good clean hit, and it would be over. His blue eyes locking onto his pale gray-eyed opponent, he waited for any subtle movement, and when he disappeared Naruto went on the defensive.

Instead of his opponent disappearing again, the swordsman suddenly lapsed into what looked like a peaceful trance. "Mirage Sword Style: Trial of the Three Paths." He whispered, moving both his right arm Naruto saw the increase in his arm movements to the point where he could have sworn that he saw three arms instead of two. Then without a moment's hesitation he sped towards the fishman.

"Son of a bitch!" Swinging Saibannin Kayiouumi to try and cleave him in half, Naruto's eyes nearly sparkled when he saw the blade hit him, only for his hopes to become dashed when it simply passed through him. An after image? Shit! Pivoting on his right heel the blond lashed out with a wild kick to intercept the middle arm, only to his horror that his leg passed through his 'arm', and was rewarded with a deep cut to his right bicep from the real one.

The hit was painful, but he was well accustomed to it. Plus his opponent was in close, with a fierce grin he dropped his axe, swiftly grabbed his sword arm, and delivered a devastating haymaker to his face. Naruto reveled in satisfaction when he heard cartilage break and blood flew from his nose as his opponent flew ten feet from him, harshly hitting the ground.

"Take that you fruity bastard!" Naruto bellowed in triumph.

"No! What have you done!?" The stranger bellowed in anger. He stared at his shaking left hand that was completely covered in blood. His tongue tasted the coppery taste of the blood streaming down his nose and he futilely tried to hold it in. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Run! Get the hell out of _here_!" He choked on his last words before his body began to violently shake.

"The hell?" Picking up his giant axe, Naruto felt the killing intent flowing from the swordsman. His opponent began to laugh hysterically, and then disappeared once again. Naruto barely blocked the sword strike with the head of his axe, but the Marine-issued sabre suddenly flew into his opponent's hand and the blade bit into his left side. The blond gritted his teeth and punched the swordsman in the face once again, and he did it again, and again, and one more time for good measure.

_"Oh those were some good hits!" _ The swordsman gave the tiger shark a wide, insane smile. His eyes wide, and showing not a hint of sanity. _"Come on fishman, I've made you bleed, and you've made me bleed, let's see who will bleed out faster!"_

"I knew something was wrong about you. Other than being a damn fruit-user, you're a lunatic." Naruto swept his axe out to try and cut him in half, only for the insane teen to disappear, and reappear on the head of his axe.

_"No, _I _am the lunatic. He on the other hand is weak, while I…" _He kicked him in the head with terrifying speed, sending him through the forest. _"am the strongest."_

On the other side of the island, Naruto crawled out of one of the ships and spat out a mouthful of teeth. Damn it, whoever this guy was he was stronger than he looked. He was given no time to rest when he saw his insane opponent appear in front of him dual swords flashing. Naruto rolled away as his opponent's dual blades sliced into the ship.

Gritting his broken teeth, Naruto fell deep into himself, blocking out the pain and focusing on his training in water manipulation. Soon enough water from the sea flowed around his forearms. "Water Sickles!" He unleashed his powerful water blades at the swordsman, even though the insane teen dodged the first two, Naruto would not let up. He continued to send barrages of water sickles at his opponent, unfortunately it was all for naught, instead of wounding his opponent he wound up damaging the ship beyond repair.

Anger soon flowed through the fishman's body. Barely two days ago he killed the so-called "Strongest of the East Blue" and his entire crew…well minus Hachi, he still didn't know of his fate, and a whole ship full of Marines, but now he was having trouble with one Devil Fruit asshole? Before unleashing another water sickle with his left arm, the insane swordsman flashed in front of him, swinging the black-bladed sword.

Self-preservation is what saved Naruto from getting cut in half that day. It also involuntarily activated his Sea King Mode. The stranger watched with insane fascination when he saw his prey's sea blue eyes turned completely crimson, the muscles on his arms bulged and hardened, and his entire demeanor changed from pray to predator. The tiger shark fishman's arms shot out and clamped onto the madman's wrists before the blades struck.

White-hot fury flowed through his veins, and taking full advantage of his natural born strength he easily lifted the human up over his head. With a loud primal roar, he threw his opponent over his head and slammed him onto the ground, twisting his hips his did it again, and once again before throwing him away, and watched with smug satisfaction when he broke through the bow of the biggest ship.

Naruto soon advanced forwards, he lost his axe somewhere in the other ship and brought Arlong's Kiribachi into his right hand. It felt weird to hold something other than the weapon he had been using for years, but at the moment he needed to use something to defend with in case that maniac attacked again. Once he stepped inside the ship the blond's senses were assaulted by death hand decay. He never did investigate the lower decks of this ship, but now he knew that there was no need for it.

Immediately hearing the pitter patter of footsteps, Naruto saw the madman twitching right in front of him. Stabbing his sabre into the wood, he brought his left hand to the bleeding left side of his face. The crimson liquid stained his fingers and rubbed in in-between them. _"Fascinating, I haven't been bled like this since…ever. Kudos to you fishman, I am impressed."_

"I told you to leave me be," Naruto responded as he regrew a new set of teeth. "but now I will have to kill you."

_"Hoho, big words needle dick. You're talking a big game for one who's bleeding all over the place."_

"Keep talking asshole. We're in an enclosed space; you won't be able to use that stupid power of yours where I triumph in close quarters combat."

_"We will see about that,"_ The insane swordsman's posture drastically changed, his legs bent until he was in a crouching position and he picked his sabre into his left hand. _"Blood Sword Style: Rain Crimson!"_ holding the blades of both swords behind him the madman charged at Naruto swinging both swords up, the katana went for the neck while the sabre went for his right wrist.

Fortunately for Naruto, he swung Kiribachi to deflect the attack before going on the offensive. Letting out an angry growl he recklessly swung the giant sword, but the insane bastard just leaped away, back flipping and generally laughing. Damn it, he was just like those acrobats that entertained the royal family every year, he used to think that was pretty cool, but now he hated it.

And that laughter…that mocking, insane laughter was only aggravating his already pissed off mood and with him in Sea King Mode; it was amplifying it two fold. His years of harsh training and discipline were slowly going down the tube as his strikes missed again and again. Instead of hitting his opponent, Naruto destroyed the various barrels and crates, and most critically the support beams. He struck one more as the insane swordsman leaped out of the way and then the whole ceiling started coming down on them.

Immediately the two fighters disengaged, dodging the falling debris and leaping out through the holes in the ceiling. Once they got topside the two immediately went at it again, the sound of steel clashing against steel echoed for what seemed like hours as the two fighters continued to try and kill each other.

Blocking the two swords with Kiribachi, Naruto used his massive strength to lift his opponent's arms over his head, and then kneed him right in the stomach, sending him soaring into (and through) the Captain's doors. He emerged several seconds later, his eyes burning with intense anger.

_"God dammit! Why aren't you dead yet!?" _He screamed in frustration. _"No matter how many times I cut you, you won't bleed out like the other pieces of trash strewn on the beach. Fuck you! Fucking die already!"_

"It will take much more than a few shallow cuts to kill me. Seriously look at them." Naruto brought his right arm out, showing dozens of cuts, but unlike the few inflicted on him earlier; these ones were extremely shallow, not even deep enough to draw blood. "Not surprised though, you're running on fumes by now." He dropped the giant sword and manipulated the water to flow around his arms until they formed the shape of Megladon heads. "I'll kill you with this next attack."

_"Hahaha! I will kill you first fishman! Blood Sword Style:-"_

The two sprinted at each other, calling out their attacks.

"Devouring Twin Shark Fist!"

_"Eight Ways to Die!"_

Before the final blows were struck, a sharp whistling sound pierced the air, forcing the two combatants to jump away from each other before a cannon ball impacted where they would have clashed. Both blonds blinked in confusion before turning towards the source of the deadly projectile. And to their surprise it was a ship, a freaking huge Marine ship with dozens of cannons lined up at them.

A Marine Captain, a giant muscular man with bulldog-like jowls on his ugly face stood to face them barely one-hundred yards away. In his hand was a megaphone that seemed quite puny in his meaty hands. "'Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu and companion, you both are under arrest!"

"Companion? This asshole?" Naruto's eyes turned back to their original blue once due to the interruption.

_"Ahh, Captain Stark of Unit Thirteen. It's extremely unlucky of you to face me, but then again…you were always the unlucky one."_ The swordsman revealed as Kotetsu spoke in glee.

"Such insolence, men ready cannons!" Stark raised his right arm and the sound of a dozen cannons pointed at the two.

"Well this is going to suck," Naruto drawled out, "Madman, I know this sounds a little odd but…"

_"I will temporarily team up with you fishman. But make no mistake; I'm only doing it to kill those Marines…my blade hungers for their blood."_

"Very well then."

"Fire!"

When the cannons roared the two warriors burst into action. Kotetsu jumped from the ruined ship he was on, and then disappeared in thin air, while Naruto dived into the sea.

Landing on the deck Kotetsu crouched low and lashed out with his two blades. In the one second after he landed, four Marine's throat's erupted in a shower of gore, and seeing their comrades' fall onto the deck dead as a doorknob several Marines turned towards the mad swordsman firing their flintlock muskets.

His insane smile widening, Kotetsu easily vanished causing the Marines to accidentally shoot each other. It was then the slim teen started his attack, his swords flashed out cutting into the necks of two Marines. Spinning on his right heel he intercepted the sabre's of three Marine's with his own and then slashed out with his black katana, he watched with ecstasy as the black blade sliced into the chests of his victims, further wetting his face with their blood.

Then without any sort of warning Kotetsu jumped into the air, twisted his slim body midair and spun, turning his swords into spinning blades of death, slicing into the necks of several men before landing on his two feet.

_"Blood Sword Style: Rain Crimson!" _holding the blades of both swords behind him the madman charged at his opponents swinging both swords up, and laughed as his katana and the sabre sliced open necks and wrists.

While Kotetsu was having his fun spilling Marine blood, Naruto was deep under water in the process of unleashing a ship killing attack. Hody ordered him to create such an attack when the time came for him to destroy any type of ship that dared to threatened their home, the technique was solid after hundreds of hours of water manipulation practices to create it, but there was one problem…he never actually hit a ship with it.

Falling into himself, Naruto concentrated on the flow of the water, forming and twisting it to his will. Once he was certain that he was in full control of his technique, the blond brought is arms out to his sides and started rotating. Immediately the water started to solidify, turning into a tornado around his body, and then spiraled upwards towards the ship.

Up on the ship Kotetsu sliced the neck of another Marine, blocked a rifle butt to the head, cut the offending Marine's belly open and kicked him away into a group of sailors before facing Captain Stark with about fifty men behind him with rifles aimed at him. _"What was that? Fifty? Fifty-nine? Honestly I've lost count of how many men your unlucky unit has lost."_

"Shut up you filthy criminal!" Stark bellowed, wagging his head so his jowls flapped against his neck. "You will pay for the Iron Island massacre, and the deaths of Units Twenty-three, Thirty, and Twelve."

_"And now Unit Thirteen."_

"Over my dead body!"

It was a second later that Stark regretted that last sentence. Because the wooden deck below him burst into splinters, turning him and his men into nothing but shredded meat. Kotetsu looked on in intense fascination as a water typhoon rose out of the ship in the resemblance of a gigantic spear tip, tearing everything asunder.

_"Fucking awesome! I like you fish-guy," _Kotetsu laughed in glee, but that was until the bow of the ship plunged into the sea taking him along with it, _"Oh fish-guy, you're a fucking assho-"_ The foul mouthed man would have gladly finished his sentence, but sea water engulfing a Devil Fruit-user would stop immobilize them.

* * *

><p>"Ugh, oh my head."<p>

"Well glad you're awake asshole." Naruto greeted the bound swordsman, and then he promptly threw a bucket of salt water on his already soaked body. "Good, we need to have a chat."

"Why did you throw a bucket of water on me?"

"To prevent you from using your fruity powers."

"…that only works if I'm partially submerged or completely submerged in water. Spraying me doesn't work at all."

"Shit," Naruto sweat dropped. "well, at least I have ropes to restrain you."

"…right. All right, well I guess you want to know what the hell is going on here."

"Among other things. Now spill it, or you won't like me during this chat."

Shrugging helplessly, Kotetsu jerked his head to the right in order to get his hair out of his eyes. "All right, what do you want to know fishman?"

"First off my name is Uzumaki Naruto, remember it human. Now here is your first question. Why in the vast seas are the Marines after you?"

"Well, first off to you my name isn't human. I am 'Mirage' Kotetsu, Ensign of Unit Twenty-three under the direct command of Vice-Admiral Doberman." He stopped after revealing his information and lowered his head. "Or that's what I used to be until I killed them all."

"Killed them all?" Naruto leaned forwards and looked into the sandy-haired teen's eyes, "When I first fought you, you were dead on your feet and skittish. But after I busted your nose you went batshit crazy and started talking in a high pitched voice, and your fighting style drastically changed. Care to explain that?"

"Well I…"

"Also," Naruto slid his two swords towards him, and indicated the katana now in its black scabbard. "this is a pretty freaky-looking sword of yours. Now I've seen plenty of swords in my days, but this…it feels wrong."

"You touched my sword! Don't _ever_ touch that katana!" Kotetsu screamed hysterically.

"Wow, easy there psycho. What's so special about that damn thing?"

"That sword is what caused me to become what I am…what emerged from me."

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><p><span>Flashback<span>

The Grand Line, one of the most treacherous places in the world. The Grand Line was divided by the Red Line into two halves. The first half, stretching from Reverse Mountain to the polar opposite point of the Red Line, was known as "Paradise". It was kind of ironic that is was called that due to all the immense dangers of the sea, and mankind alike.

The second half, however started beyond the second Red Line point to the backside of Reverse Mountain, this was known as the "New World". Not much was known about it, except the terrifying accounts of deadly seas, unspeakable sea monsters, and the most terrifying pirates in the entire world.

It was in the Paradise half that a fifteen year old 'Mirage' Kotetsu of Unit Twenty-three was scouting out the island his unit landed on the orders of Vice-Admiral Doberman. He had been to several different islands in his time as a Marine, but they were modernized, but this Iron Island, man it was different.

For nearly a half an hour landing on the snowy rooftops of tiled buildings, he looked at the various buildings. They were made completely out of bamboo, wood, and tile. While they were looked primitive to some people, he found them enticing, hell he thought they were comfy looking. And the people, they were dressed in heavy wool kimono's or in gray heavy plate-armor along with demonic-looking helmets and face masks and surprisingly four swords on their hips. But what he enjoyed the most were the "Three Wolves" mountains, which in actually looked like a single mountain that was naturally shaped over the centuries. It was as majestic as it was fierce-looking.

"I believe I have all I need." He said to himself before turning towards where his ship landed and then disappeared.

Landing on a roof near his ship he carefully jumped down and headed towards the ship. It didn't take long to tell his Captain what he found, but then again there wasn't much to report, the people seemed friendly enough, the buildings were simple, and it was cold as hell.

After he was dismissed the sandy-haired teen passed by the 'Slop Hall' as the Marine's called it. It was around lunchtime and old Daggory should have served up whatever "Healthy" food by now.

"That Kotetsu is a pompous daddy's boy!" An angry voice stung his ears. What the hell? "How old is he, fifteen? And already an Ensign. That little bastard joined six months ago as a Seaman Recruit, and after he begged Vice-Admiral-" The sound of a fist hitting against flesh, and the sound of a chair and a body falling to the floor echoed down the hall.

"Shut that damn mouth of yours Ben," Another voice echoed voice echoed down the hall. "I know you don't like the boy, but there is no need to spread lies about his status."

"Bah! Well how did he become an Ensign, while I, a Marine veteran of fifteen years am a mere Chief Petty Officer?"

"Well other than the fact you're corrupt and lazy," A third voice said. "You never slew one of the most terrifying pirate Captains of the Grand Line."

"And yer telling me that boy did that? Bullshit!"

"Really, you didn't hear about this? Before he was transferred here Kotetsu was with the Fortieth Unit, and from the reports they encountered the Moon Pirates."

"Bullshit!" A sixth voice bellowed in surprise. "The freaking Moon Pirates? You're telling me that they took them on and survived."

"Well duh, or else he wouldn't be here." The second voice deadpanned, "The Fortieth Unit engaged them, and…well it was a slaughter on both sides. They fought for hours, bodies piling on the decks, falling into the sea; it wasn't until that boy killed 'The Butcher of Bayou Island' Morgan 'Moonscar' McCrite did the battle finally end."

"He killed Morgan 'Moonscar'? (1)" Ben gasped in surprise. "Wasn't he worth one-hundred million beli?"

"Yea, and from eyewitness accounts he used his Devil Fruit powers to distract both him and his crew for a long while. He saved many Marines, but despite his valiant efforts many still died that day. Now this is where the story gets fuzzy, now I heard that old Moonscar blew his best friends brains out. And soaked his entire face in his blood and brain matter.

"And then he suddenly went all loco, screamed louder than any of the wounded men on that day. And then proceeded to assault Morgan 'Moonscar' with both his sabers, he cut the guy up something fierce. I mean he disappeared, leaving mirages and shit and slicing into his skin. The cuts were deep, but they weren't fatal, I think he wanted to inflict the most pain on the pirate Captain. It wasn't until he sapped the man of all strength did disappear one last time and stabbed him through both lungs and let him suffocate to death."

"Was that what promoted him to the rank of Ensign?" the fourth voice asked.

"What do you think?"

Shaking his head to shake the memories of that day, Kotetsu quickly activated his Devil Fruit power and quickly disappeared from the spot he was standing, his appetite long since destroyed.

* * *

><p>"You look troubled boy," An old, enlightened voice broke the young man out of his stupor several hours later.<p>

Looking up from his resting place from outside a small restaurant, Kotetsu was greeted with the sight of an elderly man. He had long, grey hair, which almost reached down to his waist, with bandages wrapped around his head. He had black eyes with distinct wrinkles underneath them, a grey goatee and mustache. Clothing-wise he wore simple a purple kimono-like outfit and sandals with a katana strapped to his waist.

"What makes you say that?" He tiredly asked.

"Well for one you have several inches of snow piled on your shoulders without a jacket, stupid." The old man shot his right arm out faster than Kotetsu would expect from a man his age, and grabbed him by the ear, and pulling him from the bench he sat on. "And two that Captain of yours has been looking for you, and he asked me to help look for you after that meeting of ours."

"Gah! All right, all right!" Slapping the offending hand away from his ear, Kotetsu proceeded to rub it in a futile attempt to soothe it.

"Grandfather don't pick on the sailor," A tiny females voice admonished the old man. Turning his head towards the sliding door of the restaurant, the Ensign saw a shoulder-length chestnut-haired and eyed girl around ten years of age in a gray kimono fuming at them. "you're late enough already, get in here or I'll give your share to the dog!"

Kotetsu sweat-dropped and turned towards the elderly man, who took it all in with a serene smile on his face. "Ai, tell your mother to set an extra plate. We have to be gracious to our guests."

"Guests?" Both Kotetsu and Ai questioned simultaneously.

"Of course, we can't send this young man away with an empty stomach." And on Que, Kotetsu's stomach let out an angry growl, causing the elderly man to let out a quiet chuckle.

"Fine, just hurry up okay?" Ai rolled her eyes before closing the sliding door.

"Why would you-"

"I can't let a fellow swordsman go hungry and die in the cold." The old man patted the teenager on the back and began walking him into the restaurant, or what Kotetsu suspected was his home as well. "And while we are at it, we can get to figuring out what has brought that cloud over your head."

Two hours later, his belly full of delicious food and his body warmed from the cold, Kotetsu mused over what he learned in that short amount of time. The elderly man who invited to dinner was Mifune; the leader of Iron Island, a man who lived by the way of the sword.

His daughter was a meek woman named Taka, who by his stomach's satisfied state was the best damn chief on the island. And let's not forget the brash girl who yelled at them, she was Mifune's granddaughter and an exact carbon copy of her mother.

During dinner Kotetsu learned firsthand from the islands leader that he met with his Captain to reestablish their trading route with the Marines. They were allowed to use the village as a resting area for ships passing through but only if the ship; or ships carried invaluable supplies. But, they also asked for permission to bring in the bigger ships for the good stuff and prisoner transport.

They agreed, but in exchange, Mifune demanded that his island be left alone for another hundred years, just like it had always been since the beginnings of the World Government over eight-hundred years ago. From what Kotetsu remembered about Iron Island's history, it was always a neutral island and every hundred years the government always asked them for one favor, and they were not bothered again.

"So it's bigger ships and prisoners now," Kotetsu commented. "forgive my boldness, but what else do you have to offer when another century rolls on by? There can't be much left after nearly eight-hundred years."

Immediately after he said that, he felt Ai trying to burn a hole into his skull with her eyes. That was quickly extinguished by Mifune. "You are right; we don't have much left to offer. The first time around we gave them our ore, the second; we forged them katana's for their Admirals, the third; trade routes."

"And much more I take it?" Kotetsu asked.

"Aye, but now is not the time to discuss such matters. What I want to talk about is the reason you were sitting on the bench in front of my family's home."

"I don't wish to discuss it; none of you would want to hear what I have to say."

"Nonsense," Taka's quiet voice spoke up for the first time. "Kotetsu, sometimes discussing something, even if it is with complete strangers can help cleanse the soul of the guilt that has been burdening you."

A sweat drop appeared on the back of the young Marine's head. "Is it that obvious?"

"Even I can see it." Ai coolly remarked.

"Dang…all right,"

Taking several steady breaths, Kotetsu spoke for the first time, fully recalling the day he took his first life. "Four months ago I was a Seaman Recruit, just barely having two months of active duty under my belt before I was assigned to Unit Forty under Vice-Admiral...his name really does not matter, trust me on this okay? We were sent to capture or kill Captain Morgan 'Moonscar' McCrite due to him butchering an entire island full of civilians.

"My unit found him after a month or hard searching, we attacked them after giving them a chance to surrender. We had five ships under our command, he had four, and we left with only one after the job was done and over with."

"One ship?" Ai covered her mouth, absolutely shocked at the massive loss of life.

"My ship to be precise, and even them we only came back with three-hundred out of the original five-hundred." Kotetsu became silent, a haunting look appearing in his pale-grey eyes. "I participated in the battle. I didn't kill anyone in the early of middle phases of the battle, I either disarmed them or wounded them enough to be out of the fight...I...I just couldn't kill any of them. I did my best to save the men in my unit as well.

"But Morgan was a cunning one. He sank our ships, butchered them men and women and laughed while he did it. And after he sunk the four ships he attacked mine. He and his men butchered my friends by the dozen. Morgan attacked the Vice-Admiral in command and they both fought it out with overwhelming power. The Vice-Admiral had Moonscar on the ropes before he pulled a lucky move by kicking him away into the sea. From then he continued to butcher us."

Kotetsu stopped his story and closed his eyes tightly to fight off any tears. "He shot Jean, my best friend right in front of me. His blood coated my entire face and I saw _red_. I snapped, and I tortured him. Using my Devil Fruit powers I disappeared behind him and sliced his shoulder, disappeared and sliced the side of his left thigh. After that I don't remember anything, but the survivors said that I cut into his arms, slashed his belly, and finally when the once mighty pirate fell to his knees..." Kotetsu suddenly thrust both is arms out, his eyes shining from the thought. "I slipped my blades through his ribcage, both his lungs, right until the the guard was buried in him and he blades poking out through his back. And I watched as he struggled to breathe until he died in the most painful way possible."

Soon after he said that, the light from his eyes disappeared, and his body started shaking. "But after that...I felt...I haven't felt like my old self since then. I still have nightmares seeing Morgan's cruel face mocking me when he killed Jean. But most importantly I'm afraid to use my swords. Every time I clean them I still see the blood on them, and I still feel the blood on my face." Kotetsu clutched the edge of the table and the family could hear the slight crackling of wood. "I can't talk to my family about this-especially my father, nor can I discuss this with my current crew…I just don't know what to do."

"Well that is no good." Mifune immediately said after the young man's heartfelt confession. He saw in the boy's eyes that he was in so much inner pain, and so much confliction that it was destroying what he could achieve in life. "I can see the potential in you boy. But that fear holds you back."

"I know, but-"

"It is not the fact that you took a man's life. You did the world a great service in killing that monster, what you fear is that your skills aren't good enough to protect the ones you love. That is what I see when I look at you."

"But how will I become strong enough to protect them? I fear that I have reached my limit."

"Then I will make you limitless."

* * *

><p>Nearly three years later Mifune was still keeping his promise. Because his entire unit was stationed at Iron Island's shores Kotetsu was fortunate enough to visit Mifune and his family on a daily basis. And after three years they became almost like a second family to him. Taka treated him affectionately like a mother would, Mifune was easily the grandfather figure, and even Ai after nearly a year of giving him the cold shoulder managed to warm up to him.<p>

But that wasn't the only thing that went on in his life. Every single day, Mifune taught him how to face his fears, how to conquer them, and taught him the way of the sword. Whatever mistakes Kotetsu made was corrected by pain with a wooden stick striking the body part he messed up with. Afterwards he was taught to meditate to clear his mind, learn from his mistakes, and mentally improve on his failures. His weaknesses soon became his strengths, his strength and speed doubled, if not tripled under his tutelage.

But not all was sunshine and rainbows. Even though his training showed the fruits of his labor, his Captain, and his crew mates looked at him with indifference and scorn. Even the Captain who was a friend to him began to either ignore, or load him down with an overwhelming amount of work that sometimes stopped his training completely for days at a time.

It wasn't until the Captain finally brought him into his quarters did the young swordsman learn the awful truth.

"I take that you wish to know why the entire crew has been…treating you differently." The Captain coldly asked.

"Quite frankly Captain, I am. What have I done to warrant this?" Kotetsu responded. "I have done everything you ask of me, I have not slacked from the duties of my rank. Is this because of my lessons with the leader of the island?"

"It is. What are you thinking boy?" He demanded.

"I feared that I was reaching my peak in my skills, Captain." The young Marine answered, "No disrespect intended, but their methods have helped me greatly. I know I have gotten stronger, faster, and-"

"I do not care! You're fraternizing with the enemy!"

"The…the enemy sir?" Kotetsu gulped a bit, and tried to ignore the uneasiness in his stomach.

"Do you know why the World Government allowed these people to stay neutral all these years?"

"Because of all the deals?"

"Because they have hidden something from us. Something that the government has been trying to find, and destroy since their creation."

"What?" The Captain's words were not making any sense. "If you're talking about weapons, all they have are katana's and they're not even in the Skillful, Grate, or Grand sword categories. At least none that I know of."

"That's where you're wrong, after nearly two decades we finally found proof that they have one of the deadliest swords ever created."

"Captain, that can't be. The deadliest swords that I know of is the Yoru (Night), wielded by "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk and the…oh God no." Kotetsu had to fight the urge to vomit at the mere thought.

"The Kitetsu blades, boy. They have one hidden on that very island." The Captain said.

"But that still doesn't explain why the government has left them alone since the beginning. That can't be the only reason either!" Kotetsu protested, trying to find any sort of reasoning for this.

"I don't care, boy. We found what we needed, and now…we will take it." The Captain grinned. "Now, go tell the village leader that we know his secret, go to him, and tell him that we are going to get it one way, or another."

Gulping down another bile that nearly made its way to his mouth, Kotetsu saluted his Captain, and disappeared.

Once the Ensign left his room, the Captain pulled out a den den mushi from his naval jacket and spoke to into it. "Execute, Operation: Iron Fist."

* * *

><p>"And that's what they plan on doing Master Mifune." Kotetsu finished relaying the message his Captain gave him.<p>

"Hmm I see," Mifune rose from his sitting position. "I knew that sword would cause trouble for us one day. I guess that time has come, and now we must fight."

"Master, I know it is not my place to say this. But why not just hand it over and save yourself the trouble?"

"Because we have to keep that cursed sword out of the hands of government." Mifune growled out. "Do not believe in the lies your superiors have been telling you. Tell me boy, what do you know about the various blades that have been crafted through out the world?"

"Only that some of them are in the hands of Marines and pirates." Kotetsu truthfully answered him.

"Well the Marines have been hoarding them all ever since Kitetsu created those three swords of his centuries ago." The elderly leader said before walking out of the room, Kotetsu followed him to a room that held two sets of armor. One being the heavy gray plate armor, another being a more traditional set of green and gray armor.

"A person does not choose their sword, the sword chooses its owner," Mifune continued to speak as he began to strap on the green armor. "what they are doing is destroying bonds between sword and owner."

"A bond between sword and owner?" Kotetsu asked.

"You will find out what I mean soon my apprentice." The village leader cryptically responded as he strapped his shin guards on. "And when you do, you will never be the same ever again. The world moves a little slower, you will see and feel things that you never dreamed of. It is a great burden as it is an accomplishment."

"I…I…see," The sandy-haired teen lowered his head. "So this is it then? I may be forced to-"

"I know, and I hope to meet you on the battlefield young one." Mifune's black eyes gazed into his student's gray ones. "I was fun teaching you, Kotetsu. Fight well on the battlefield."

Upon hearing his teacher say his name for the first time, Kotetsu felt like he was torn in half. One part of his was screaming that this was wrong; this was the man who took him under his wing and brought him to his full potential. He didn't want to fight him, let alone kill him. But then again he was a Marine, his family's entire history revolved around it. His forefathers were Marine's his father was a damn Vice-Admiral, and his little brother was prepping to join up as well. But before he could even speak, a volley of gunshots broke the silence of the quiet village.

Then the screaming began.

The two swordsmen quickly bolted out of the house and were greeted to a nightmare. In the streets they saw bodies of men, women, and children lying in the streets from gunshot wounds. Kotetsu immediately lost his lunch at the sight of the carnage.

"Get down!" Mifune tackled the teenager to the ground, saving him from being hit by a volley of bullets from across the street. Despite being ancient by human standards, the old man immediately got to his feet and sprinted towards the building.

"Iaido!" Mifune shouted as he unsheathed his sword. The pressure from the swing impacted the wall of the wooden and bamboo house, cutting it clean in half, and collapsing it on itself killing any Marines within it.

Lying flat on his stomach, Kotetsu stared in shock at how easily that in one swing of his sword his teacher managed to devastate an entire building. So this was the full power of a master swordsman. Amazing, simply amazing. But then he saw the massacre and weakly stood up. He couldn't believe this, these people were unarmed, several of them were no more than tea makers. He saw the horrid look in Mifune's eyes and knew that this was unjust.

"Master Mifune!" He called out to the old man, and when the master swordsman turned his attention towards him; Kotetsu unsheathed his sabers. "This needs to be stopped."

"Good answer, Kotetsu."

* * *

><p>"Wait, wait, wait." Naruto interrupted Kotetsu's story. "So you're telling me that all this started because of a damn sword?"<p>

"That is correct; see the katana was created by a mad swordsman by the name of Kitetsu. He was a mad sword smith who created three katana's in his lifetime. They are cursed, and bring tragedy to whomever wields them, and they have killed hundreds of owners since they have been created." Kotetsu responded.

"So, which one do you have?"

"Let me continue the story and then you will know."

"Fine…jackass."

* * *

><p>For three long days the men and women of Iron Island defended their home from the invading Marines of Unit Twenty-three. For Kotetsu he was surprised that they even held out for this long. The samurai of the island didn't have any sort of firearm or heavy artillery, they mainly relied on their katana's, yumi bows and arrows, and some even wielded kanabo war club or the naginata, there were even one or two who used the yari spear.<p>

But despite their valiant efforts the residents suffered heavy casualties from gunfire. Morale was declining, civilians were getting caught in the crossfire; hell Mifune already lost his daughter when a group of Marines caught and executed her in front of them.

Soon afterwards the village was lost; on the second day they lost the forest. And now the survivors were held up in the "Three Wolves" mountains.

But even with all of that Kotetsu still found himself unwilling to kill his former comrades. Oh he wounded them, gave them crippling injuries, and even took away an arm or leg. But they just kept coming like machines. Mifune saw this, and knew that if he was not going to be of any use on the battlefield, so he stuck the sandy-haired teen with the civilians to keep them safe.

For Kotetsu, it was the best solution, so he was guarding nearly forty people; most of them being wounded civilians and samurai, including a thirteen year old Ai, who was still grieving the loss of her mother.

He didn't know what to say to her. How could he? He was part of the reason that her life was turned upside down, if they all managed to survive this assault nothing would ever be the same again. Unfortunately for him, anything that could have been said was interrupted when a cannon ball blew through the stone walls of the mountain.

"What the!? Everyone get down!" Leaping to his feet, Kotetsu viewed through the hole of the wall and saw three giant ships docked in the port, "Son of a bitch. It's Unit Thirty."

"Unit Thirty? Kotetsu, are they worse than your unit?" Ai timidly asked.

"If they're like Vice-Admiral Onigumo, then yes. Ugh, his units are heavy hitters."

"We aren't going to get out of here alive are we?" She asked.

"I do not know Ai," Another cannon ball burst through the mountain, striking helpless samurai and civilian alike with deadly shrapnel. "I honestly do not know."

"If we are to go down, we will make sure that they never get the Nidai Kitetsu (Second Generation Demon-Splitter)." Mifune joined their conversation as he entered the room. From the look of his broken and dirty armor, the elderly man had been in the middle of dozens of small battles since the invasion began. He was flanked by two samurai, both wearing heavy gray plate armor with full-face helmets with horns atop their heads.

Another cannon ball broke through the stone walls; thankfully no one was harmed this time. "But where will you go Master? All the ports have been captured, your ships destroyed…I can't see you two escaping."

"Because we can't escape." The elderly man replied, tiredly, his voice sounding tired and old. "But we will destroy the sword," This time a volley of cannon balls burst through the mountain walls, killing and maiming the last of the survivors, and causing Kotetsu to lose whatever he had left in his stomach.

"Come." Grabbing both their arms, Mifune barked at two samurai, one with a yumi bow and another with a naginata. "You two follow me now! We have to get to the third wolf head!"

"Yes, Lord Mifune." They both sounded out as they followed their elderly leader.

The five escaped from the doomed first head, leaving behind nothing but dead bodies. Kotetsu felt disgusted and horrified at the innocent lives lost to something so pointless, damn them, damn them all! "I will kill them all." He angrily growled.

"Big talk for one who did nothing but wound his former comrades." The samurai with the yumi bow dryly commented.

"Knock it off Okisuke," Mifune demanded. "Keep focused we can't allow-Gah!" The sound of gunfire erupted from behind them, and the old man flew forwards, landing on the ground clutching his bleeding left shoulder.

"Bastards!" Okisuke yelled angrily, spinning on his right heel, the samurai fluidly drew his bow, knocked an arrow, and let it loose. Striking a Marine right in the eye with the arrow, he brought his right arm up and retrieved another arrow.

"Come on my Lord, up and at 'em." The second, bigger samurai easily shouldered his village leader.

"Thank you Urakaku." Mifune thanked the other samurai through clenched teeth. "Okisuke, hurry up!"

After letting loose another arrow, Okisuke nodded and followed his lord until they reached the rope bridge leading towards the second wolf head. The five were half-way across the bridge when a group of thirty Marines finally caught up to them. Ten of them raised their flintlock muskets, and fired at the retreating group.

Seven shots missed them completely, but two hit their mark with Okisuke who was at the back of the retreating group. One bullet ripped through his stomach, and another hit him in the back of his right leg, and the last one hit the back of his helmet, it didn't penetrate but it did cause it to fly from his head. The samurai collapsed with a painful grunt.

It was Kotetsu who noticed that he went down. Even though he was exhausted from the lack of food and sleep, he activated his devil fruit powers and disappeared to where Okisuke fell. Grabbing him, he disappeared back to the group, grabbed them all and disappeared until they were clear on the other side of the bridge.

Plopping behind cover Kotetsu collapsed to the ground exhausted, but that didn't stop him from turning towards Okisuke who was clutching his belly. "Oh God, the bullet went right through the liver."

"I know," Okisuke grunted. Looking up at him, He revealed himself to be a bald man with violet-colored, pupiless eyes, with a cross-shaped scar that extended across his forehead and descended downward past his permanently closed right eye, whereas a green dragon tattoo was inscribed above his left. "Just go, save Lord Mifune, I will hold them off as long as I can."

Mifune, Ai, and Urakaku lowered their heads to hide the anguish looks on their faces. Okisuke was one of the loyalist men that served Mifune since he could wield a sword. It was tragic to see him like that. "Give them hell, son."

"I will my Lord." Okisuke nodded toward them. And once they were out of his sight, he sighed deeply and got to his feet. Grabbing his bow he knocked an arrow, drew the string back to his cheek, and let it loose. The arrow impacted into the chest of a Marine, and he toppled off the cliff.

For three minutes the group of Marines shot at the wounded samurai. Bullets impacted off the rock he was taking cover behind, but every one of Okisuke's arrows were true. Each hit was instantly fatal, arrows protruded through the Marine's throats, eyes, and hearts. Letting loose another arrow, Okisuke brought his arm back to get another arrow from his quiver. But to his horror, he felt nothing; he was completely out of arrows.

Dropping the bow, Okisuke took a deep breath. So this was the day he was going to die, it was strange, he thought he would fear death when his time came. Instead it felt…refreshing. Unsheathing his katana into his right hand, and his wakizashi into his left. The wounded samurai let out a ferocious roar that would make an alpha lion look like a timid creature, and charged at the oncoming Marines.

Ignoring the pain in his leg, the blood gushing out of his stomach and the bullets impacting into his armor the proud samurai charged on. Bullets ricochet from his armor, some passed right through him, he was a dead man walking, but he didn't care. All he wanted to do was take as many of these bastards with him when he died.

Okisuke reached the end of the bridge, and lashed out with his swords. The deadly steel sliced through the bodies of five Marines, and he would have taken more if Ben, the Marine who badmouthed Kotetsu nearly three years prior. He raised his flintlock pistol from behind the samurai's turned back, and shot him in the back of the head.

Even though he cut down at least half the Marines coming at him, Okisuke died with a serene smile on his face. It was a shame that one-hundred more Marines were charging up the slopes of the mountain.

* * *

><p>"Damn it…just damn it." Kotetsu growled under his breath.<p>

"He died the way he wanted." Even though it was true, Mifune's voice was filled with regret and sadness. "Come if we don't hurry, his sacrifice will be in vain."

Once they reached the bottom of the second wolf head the small group were met with an unpleasant surprise that dropped in front of them. "Grenado's, watch out!" Kotetsu screamed.

Grabbing Ai the young swordsman forcefully called upon his exhausted powers and disappeared towards the entrance. Urakaku and Mifune however were not so lucky, but the big samurai was one step ahead as he pivoted on his heel, dropped his header into his burly arms and brought his back to the four grenado's. The fuses on the four clay balls quickly fizzled into the top and exploded.

The shrapnel impacted against Urakaku's armor. Various nails, or scrap metal pierced through the already damaged armor. The naginata-wielding man gasped out in pain when he felt the hot shrapnel pierced into his back, and tore up his insides.

"My…Lord," Urakaku wetly gasped out, "Are you okay?" He hacked into his helmet, creating a sickly splattering sound within it.

"I'm a little scratched up but fine. Thank you Urakaku, let me get that helmet off." Getting a hold of his trembling nerves, Mifune brought his hands to his second right-hand man's helmeted face, and pulled it off to reveal a middle aged man with black-hair tied into a traditional chonmage and very thick eyebrows with similarly colored eyes. The only distinguishing features he had were a bulbous nose and a prominent scar located just above his right eyebrow.

Wiping the blood away from his mouth, Urakaku bowed his head towards the man who trained both him and Okisuke since they were little. "Master, it is my time." He said to him.

"I will meet you in the afterlife my student. May we forever spar in the promised land." Giving the dying man a final pat on the shoulder Mifune left him to his fate.

And when the Marine's arrived three minutes later, the entrance leading towards the third wolf head was blocked by the large samurai. Gripping his naginata he rushed forward with great speed that should not have been possible in his condition.

Swinging the bladed staff weapon Urakaku sliced taking off part of the skull of one unfortunate Marine, exposing the brain. He slashed through the face and jaw and slicing off another, slicing the lower part of the jawbone off in an instant. He then thrusted forward, impaling four Marines through their hearts. The haft of the weapon was then sliced off by the sabre of another Marine, who was then stabbed through the neck by the splintered wood by the enraged samurai.

"I don't need a weapon to kill you! I am a Weapon!" Lunging forward Urakaku began tearing into the ranks of opposing enemies with his bare hands. He Tore through throats, crushed skulls, broke necks, and pulled arms off. But at the same time he took many attacks to his exposed torso, dozens of sabers protruded from his body, but self-preservation, his spirit already left his body. Yet his consciousness continued to urge him to on, to give his teacher a little more time.

But then Ben put an end to that buy lifting his flintlock pistol, and shooting his oncoming body right in the head.

"Just three more left." He smirked in self-satisfaction.

* * *

><p>As Urakaku's last stand came to an end, Mifune, Kotetsu, and Ai finally got to their destination where the object that caused all this destruction and pain. It was a katana propped up on a simple display stand with a black scabbard, the guard was bone white with four crescent moons that covered the dark maroon handle, and a crimson tassel hung from the end of it that held a small ceremonial bell attached to it.<p>

Mifune glared at the weapon and unsheathed his own katana. The steel blade was fairly long and thin, the hand-guard was rectangular in shape, and its long hilt was wrapped in bandages. This sword was Kurosawa (Black Swamp), the only sword other than Nidai Kitetsu was one of the twenty-one swords in the Great Grand Sword category.

"Master Mifune, will Kurosawa be able to destroy that cursed sword?" Kotetsu questioned.

"We will see." Raising the sword above his head Mifune was about to unleash the Iaido to destroy the thing once and for all. But instead he turned around and unleashed the pressurized swing at the entrance, obliterating several Marines aiming their rifles from the entrance.

"Haha! You're out of steam old man." A cruel, mocking voice echoed from the entrance. Walking inwards Ben revealed himself.

Kotetsu would never forget the face of a monster in human skin. Ben was taller than the average human; he was muscular as he was obese. Clutched in his hands were two double barreled flintlock pistols, and a smile marred his bald, mutton chopped face as his black eyes glinted with cruelty.

"Ben," Kotetsu gritted out. "I should have known you would lead the charge on this insanity."

"And you would be right _Ensign_." Ben spat out the rank like it was poison.

"Tell me, why…all this…this senseless slaughter, why do they want this sword? It's supposed to be a cursed blade!"

"Ha! You really think it's just about a stupid sword? Oh boy, oh boy, you are so naive. It's not just about the sword, it's about the entire island itself!"

"What!?" Mifune and Ai demanded.

"Your ancestors foolishly declared yourselves neutral. Back then the World Government didn't care, but now…well we can't have that now can we? There will not be any neutrality, and your island will be made an example of."

"An 'official report' then." Kotetsu concluded as he put the pieces together. "An insurrection, you bastards."

"Smart pretty boy," Ben casually raised his right arm, and shot the exhausted teen in the side. Causing him to cry out in pain as the blood started leaking out. "Don't worry; the 'official report' will have you killed in action by these savages. Daddy dearest would be proud."

"Not on my watch!" Ignoring both Kotetsu and Ai's cries, the wounded village leader burst forward. He let out a loud cry of defiance as he gripped Kurosawa's hilt with both his hands.

Mifune was met with a hail of gunfire from thirty plus Marines, turning his entire body into nothing but a torn up corpse. His defiant eyes still open, the village leaved fell to his knees, his hands dropping his katana onto the stone floor with a loud clatter, and fell to his side dead to the world.

"Haha! And now I killed the leader of the uprising! I am going to get a huge promotion for this!" Ben pumped his fist in triumph; oh this was his lucky day. Then settling his eyes on the final two, he dropped the pistol from his right hand, took one from one of the Marines who was reloading his rifle, and strolled over to them.

Despite the pain in his right side, Kotetsu stood up on his wobbly legs. Breathing through clenched teeth he unsheathed one of his sabers into his right hand, which was cruelly shot at buy the pistol Ben took from his colleague. The iron musket ball hit the area where the steel was fused with the hilt, snapping the blade in two, causing the young Marine to fall to his knee.

Dropping the gun, Ben raised his remaining pistol and pulled back one of the hammers. Leveling it at Kotetsu's heart he was about to pull the trigger when Ai got in the way. "Get out of the way girl, I will get to you after him." The ugly Marine growled.

Despite the tears falling from her eyes, the pain of seeing her last loved one die. Ai was not afraid of him. What did she have to lose after all? "I don't know what my grandfather saw in him. But I will not allow you to kill him, if want him you will have to go through me!"

"Ai, don't do this!" Kotetsu gritted through clenched teeth. "Don't waste your life on me."

"No Kotetsu, you life will not end this day." Ai calmly closed her eyes and her entire body relaxed, almost like she was at peace with her decision.

With a cruel smile Ben aimed his pistol at her head and pulled the trigger.

Ai's lifeless body fell to the stone floor, leaving Kotetsu's horrified face covered in her innocent blood. Ben then casually stepped over her body like it was garbage, and kicked the stunned teen in the chest, sending him crashing against the display stand. As the stand broke beneath his back, Nidai Kitetsu fell right into Kotetsu's lap.

"Last man standing, eh? Shitty luck for you boy." Pulling back the hammer to his pistol Ben gave him one last cruel smile. "Goodbye, Kotetsu."

But Kotetsu wasn't paying attention. He was entirely shell shocked, everything he knew was a lie, everyone he knew, befriended was dead.

His heart thumped once as the hammer started going down.

Twice when the hammer lit the gunpowder.

And for a third time when the bullet came forth from the barrel.

His right hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of the cursed sword. And felt the presence of it, the soul of the sword, he felt it beg to be unleashed. To kill the ones who wiped out an entire population, to avenge the innocents who died because of them!

And a part of him immediately agreed.

Faster than anyone could blink, Kotetsu unsheathed the katana. The ebony blade with the red vein going through the middle of it came forth for the first time in years, and sliced the offending bullet in two.

"What the-" Ben whispered in shock.

"_If you want to kill me,_" Kotetsu's voice suddenly took a high, psychotic pitch to it. _"then you motherfuckers will have to do better than that."_ With renewed strength and energy the sandy-haired teen disappeared, and then reappeared at the entrance of the third wolf head in front of a large group of Marines.

And the group looked on in horror as Ben and the group he went in with screamed out in agony. Their hands clutched cut open throats, they placed their hands where their hearts and lungs were, their livers, kidneys, and vital area really. Some just fell over brain dead, while others desperately clang to life.

_"Oh my, so many victims. And so much fun to be had!"_ Kotetsu squealed with insane glee.

And for then for two hours the crazed swordsman hunted down the invading Marines. His psychotic laughs haunted the victims as he killed them. Some were in big groups thinking that vast numbers would protect them…well at least they didn't die alone.

Those who ran, he hunted them down like the dog they were. Some of them put up a desperate fight, which made it all the more satisfying when his blades tasted their blood. But others committed suicide, causing him to sigh in dissatisfaction at them taking the easy way out.

And then there were the ships. Oh, Kotetsu loved the ships. Especially the medical bay, just hearing the screams of the wounded put a bounce in his step when he slowly cut their throats wide open. The Captain of Unit Thirty…well unfortunately he proved to be a coward and blew head off with a blunderbuss.

When he approached his former Captain's quarters, Kotetsu sincerely hoped that he could not be disappointed.

"Vice-Admiral Doberman, please send reinforcements!" The Captain begged over his den den mushi. "Ensign Kotetsu he's slaughtered all of us. Captain Jay is dead, our wounded are dead, my men are holding him-"

The Captain's transmission was interrupted when five headless bodies burst through the thick doors to his quarters. When Kotetsu walked in, he lost control of his bladder.

Kotetsu looked like someone from a horror movie. Clutched in his hands were his two swords that were dripping with flesh blood, and as he strolled forward the blood on his naval coat dripped onto the expensive carpet, his naval shoes leaving bloody footprints in his wake. Kotetsu's restricted pupils were twitching madly, showing no hint of sanity within him, and the wide, bloody smile cause a ball of doom to drop into his stomach.

"Ensign, I-" The Captain was silenced when Nidai Kitetsu sliced open his cheek.

_"Shut your fucking mouth Captain Weed."_ Kotetsu spat on the quivering Captain. _"Stand up!"_ The Captain quickly stood to his feet. _"Now draw your sword, the last one disappointed me. I hope you can provide me some entertainment before you die."_

"N-n-no, I won't do it! Kotetsu come to your senses!" Captain Weed screamed.

He only got a grunt of dissatisfaction when Kotetsu lashed out with his two swords, cutting his legs off at the knee caps. _"So much respect he had for you._" Kotetsu said angrily, _"What a joke!"_ Lifting his arms above his head the swordsman buried his two swords into the screaming Captain's lungs.

"_Captain Weed report!"_ A static voice echoed from the den den mushi resting on the deceased Captain's hickory desk. "_Weed! Report now!"_

Picking up the snail Kotetsu pressed the button on the shell. _"Doberman, is that you?"_ He hissed. _"On second thought, I don't care. Know this; this massacre just sealed your fate. Yours and Onigumo's. I'm coming for the both of you!"_

_"Good luck..."Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu."_ Vice-Admiral Doberman calmly replied over the den den mushi before hanging up.

Crushing the den den mushi Kotetsu spat to the side. _"Now what am I supposed to do? I killed everyone already...or did I?"_

Unfortunately for Kotetsu he didn't find anymore Marines to kill. He looked around the entire island but didn't find anybody, no Marines, no civilians, and no samurai. Everybody...everybody was dead. He didn't know how, but he found himself inside the third wolf head once again.

He didn't know why, but the sole survivor of the island collected Mifune's sword. He felt the despair and loneliness coming from Kurosawa, it felt he was crying. He felt his insanity dampen when he heard the cries, closing his eyes he pulled the scabbard from Mifune's sash and sheathed the sword to silence it.

_"I can't leave them." _He whispered to himself. Securing Kurosawa in his belt, Kotetsu picked up his deceased masters body, and then he went to Ai's.

It would be hours later when Kotetsu finally left the island, he stole a small ship that was tethered to one of the larger ships of Unit Thirty. He also stole a good amount of water and rations to survive for a few weeks. _"Goodbye Iron Island."_ Kotetsu said as the island faded into the distance, _"I will never..._forget you." his voice went back to normal as tears fell from his eyes.

* * *

><p>"And after that…I buried Master Mifune, Ai, Urakaku, Taka, and Okisuke in unmarked graves in the woods. And then I stole one of their small ships and fled the Grand Line. But I was pursued the entire way. Unit Twelve of the East Blue tracked me here, and the other me killed them all. That's my story Uzumaki Naruto." Kotetsu tiredly finished up his tale.<p>

"So you…or the other you took out that many Marines? Huh, well I'm impressed actually." Naruto whistled.

"Don't be, killing is not something to be enjoyed. But every time I get a great amount of blood on my face…Magara come out."

"Magara?" Naruto raised a blond eyebrow.

"I named him that because he loves to spill blood, every attack he has is meant to draw out the most amount of blood with each strike." Kotetsu lowered his head and spat to the side. "Every time he comes out, I see through his eyes. I know what he...what I have done. What are you going to do with me now Uzumaki? If you're going to kill me then do it quickly."

Naruto's right arm reached out, he thought about complying with his request. But…Queen Otohime's words rang through his head; it was one of her speeches towards being kind to humanity. But Hody's teachings urged him to split his head open. He was just another filthy, useless human.

It was reasoning that caused him to undo the ropes binding the young man. He had some sailing experience, and he came from the Grand Line. He would show him the way home.

"You are of use to me, Kotetsu." Naruto said as he scooted the two swords towards him with his right foot. "I need to get home, take me there and I will make sure you have a safe haven on Fishman Island. What do you say?"

Pulling the two swords close to his chest like the precious treasures they were. Kotetsu looked up at the tiger shark fishman. "I will do it…Captain."

* * *

><p>(1) If you know who he is, then you had an awesome childhood and can declare yourself awesome for the month!<p>

Armageddon: Well folks I'm back and man what a month. I apologize for the wait, but I believe this is well worth it, especially for a Halloween night. Enjoy it my minions, for the night is ours! Muhahahaha!

Everyone: *slowly backs away from the crazy writer*

Armageddon: Oh before I forget, Kotetsu was created and is owned by Agurra of the Darkness.


	8. Why do I attract these sorts of people?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece. Is there not more I can do to prove this?

Talk: "Talk"

Think: _'Think'_

* * *

><p>"Your directions suck!" Naruto yelled at his 'subordinate'.<p>

"Don't blame me; blame that stupid storm that blew us off course." Kotetsu protested to his 'Captain'.

Five days passed since Naruto 'recruited' Kotetsu; a former Ensign of the Marines. However, the tiger shark fishman found himself a little wary of him due to the fact that he was an apparent psychopath. Well not Kotetsu himself, the guy didn't really look like much. Yea he was pretty skilled with a sword, and he could move pretty fast with that damn devil fruit of his, but he lacked the intent to kill. No that was Magara, the 'other side' of his that loved to kill and soak in the blood of his enemies.

The only reason he did not throw him overboard and watch him sink into the sea was because he knew how to get back to the Grand Line. Or at least he thought he did, but apparently Kotetsu sucked at navigation as much as he did. From the map the two managed to salvage from the only ship that wasn't damaged in their fight, the two were about to hit a place called Warship Island when a freak storm came out of nowhere and set them spiraling out of control, and put them in the middle of nowhere.

Which left them in their current predicament of being hopelessly lost.

"I don't give a damn about the storm. You were supposed to navigate me back to the Grand Line!"

"Well sooorrrrie, if this was a bigger ship we would have been fine. But we were left with a gunboat! So shut up!"

Naruto growled in response. Of course he had to be reminded about that. The both of them tried to find a bigger ship to sail on, but with that fight of theirs the two bigger ones were destroyed beyond repair, and that left them a small, two decked, two sail, one cannoned gunboat to make due with. While the thing was easy to sail, it was one of the most uncomfortable things he ever experienced in his entire life. The ship had no beds, no kitchen, or even a damn bathroom!

"Just pull out the map. Maybe it can point out any landmarks, or at least give us a clue to where the fuck we are." Naruto suppressed the urge to snap at the swordsman. Kotetsu wasn't the cause of his anger, not entirely at least. Naruto was mad that he broke his promise to Shirahoshi, he promised that he would be back in two weeks, and he was going to be late because Arlong destroyed his means of getting home.

"Yea, yea one second." Grabbing the map out of his back pocket, Kotetsu unfolded it and set it on the deck. Placing his right hand on the bottom of it, he used his left index finger to try and trace where they were. He spotted Warship Island and remembering being knocked off course to the south, and pretty much guessing where they were sailing, his finger landed in the vicinity of... "We're near the Gecko Islands."

"Never heard of them."

"I know only a little about it. My former unit docked there for supplies, it has at least four villages and a major restaurant that serves good food in a place called Syrup Village."

"So no Marines?"

"None."

"Then lets go there. I doubt word has spread about you to this area yet. We can purchase some supplies there, and get you something other than that damn bloodied Marine jacket of yours, or those naval pants."

"What's wrong with my pants?" Kotetsu demanded.

"It screams 'I'm in the Marines'." Naruto deadpanned.

* * *

><p>A couple miles away the twosome were spotted by a man in basic clothing and an eye-patch settled in the crows nest. A smirk came to his bearded face at seeing his prey from his visible eye, the man gripped the top of the crows nest before leaping off, grabbing the rope attached to the mast, and rappelled all the way down to the deck.<p>

"Did you see something Scout?" One of the men asked.

"I sure did, it's a small gunboat. Not too big of a threat, but it's on the way of the island. And you know what the Captain said-"

"Tell me if anyone is going to get in our way." The crew member finished the sentence. "I know, now got and get him. But be careful he's in a foul mood."

"He's always in a foul mood. I know he wasn't the best three years ago, but now he's just a complete dick. Tell me why did we carry him off after his defeat?" Scout asked.

"Fuck if I know. But just go and be done with it."

"Yea, yea. I'll get to it." Scout waved the man away and walked towards the entrance. Opening the red double doors he was greeted with nothing but darkness, he swallowed out of reflex due to the immense killing intent emitting from the entrance. Good god, how could he forget that his Captain was one of the most terrifying men he ever met. Taking a deep breath, Scout descended into the darkness of the ship.

When there was absolutely no source of light, Scout moved his eye-patch over to his left eye. Immediately his right eye -after being covered for several days- adjusted to the darkness so he could see quite clearly(1). The pirate moved forward, stepping upon the wooden boards quietly as to not disturb the crew members that were to go on night shift in five hours time. Once he arrived at the end of the hallway, his lone eye fixated upon the red and black doors and his heart leapt into his throat when a cold, calculated voice spoke through the door.

"Enter."

Nearly squealing in terror. Scout barely held his bladder together before entering the Captain's quarters. He was greeted with a simple dark room with three windows, a oak desk with a chair to match it, a striped couch, some purple curtains, and a bed. Lounging on the bed was a slim man with round glasses and slicked black hair with a green tinge to it, he wore a standard black captain's coat with a white cat skull with two bones crossing behind its head symbol on the golden epaulette's on his shoulders. The coat nearly covered a simple white shirt and he was wearing a pair of black pants reaching down to his ankles, and his trademark black and white striped shoes. The man looked over to his subordinate, glaring at him with cruel black eyes.

"Uh, C-Captain we spotted a ship, a gunboat. There were only two people, but one was a fishman. I'm guessing they are mercenaries hired by the Mayor of the island o-or something."

The slim man sighed in annoyance and pushed his glasses up his nose with the palm of his right hand. "Wake the men, ready the cannons. We will kill these two before attacking the Gecko Islands tonight."

"Of course, Captain Kuro."

* * *

><p>"All right, fine I will get rid of my outfit. Once we hit the island I'll get myself a new jacket and some pants, but that is all." Kotetsu said in a exasperated tone. He knew the tiger shark fishman was right, but he was far too used to wearing his Marine clothing. It was almost like being without his swords, he would feel naked without them.<p>

"Trust me this will be for the best-" Naruto was interrupted by the sound of cannon fire. Both Kotetsu and himself turned and were greeted by a volley of cannon balls flying at them. "Motherfucker!"

"Shit! Get down!" Kotetsu tackled Naruto to the floor of the ship. Just in time to have several cannon balls fly over them, the two fighters heard the balls of deadly iron clip the top of their ship, sending showers of wooden splinters on their backs.

When the volley ended Kotetsu immediately jumped off the tiger shark fishman's back. "Sorry!"

"Just watch it." Naruto grumbled irritably, getting tackled by a human did not really sit well with him, especially when it was unnecessary. "Where the fuck did that come from!?"

"To the east." Kotetsu squinted his eyes against the sun towards the direction the volley of death came from. "I can see a ship, but that...oh shit get down!"

"Fuck that. You forget I'm a fishman!" Forcing two droplets of water into his palms, Naruto waited until the cannon balls were in his sights before he struck. Flinging his powerful arms the blond repeated the process of firing half a dozen water bullet's into the cannon balls. The water technique hit the cannon balls with enough kinetic force to destroy them, however he could not get to several of them in time and the cannon balls obliterated the masts.

The mast near the stern fell over the left side, destroying a section of the rails and deck as it fell into the sea. And the mast near the bow fell towards Kotetsu with the intent to crush the sandy-haired teen, however after a weeks worth of rest and healing Kotetsu unsheathed his Marine-issued sabre, and sliced the mast completely in in half.

"Dammit, there goes our sails. Any ideas Uzumaki!?" The swordsman swore.

"Yea, can you steer a boat?"

"I was in the Marines, of course I can."

"Then I have a plan."

* * *

><p>"Hey! Hey, wake up goddammit!" Scout bellowed as he pounded on the last door within the cargo hold of the ship.<p>

Nothing.

Scout's patience was at an end when he heard a third volley of cannon fire. Captain Kuro was very specific when he said wake everyone up, that meant _everyone_, even if it meant _him_ of all people. Honestly the eye-patch wearing pirate didn't know why Jango recruited the savage, he was a big lazy oaf, a waste of space, and a dairy hog. The only redeemable quality he had was that he was the best damn navigator he had seen in his life, honestly it was like the guy was one with nature.

But it still didn't excuse him from not answering his summons when the Captain demanded it. It also didn't help that he was on the thinnest ice for sleeping through the battle with the Straw Hat Pirates. Pounding on the door one more time Scout wore that is he didn't open the door he would bust the door down and shoot him, and damn the consequences!

After his last knock the wide doors that separated the two areas opened with a loud bang. Scout was greeted with nothing but darkness that even _he_ couldn't see through, all except a pair of glowing yellow eyes. "Yes?" A single tired voice questioned.

"About damn time you woke up Bashura. Listen, the Captain told me to wake everyone up, there is a ship in the area that we're going to destroy before we attack the Gecko Islands."

"Attack Gecko Islands?" Bashura asked in confusion, he even tipped his head sideways to show it.

"Yea, the island attack you slept through! The one Captain Kuro could have taken if you didn't nap!"

"It was too loud to nap. I didn't wanna join anyways."

"It was on the orders of Captain Jango! And then it was on the orders of Captain Kuro when he came back you idjet! I assumed you slept through it like the lazy cat you are." Scout shouted, infuriated that a member of his crew refused to follow the orders of his Captain. That was the number one rule in pirate crews, if you had a problem you either died, left the crew, or challenged the current Captain for control.

"Nope."

"Grr, whatever. I will pretend I didn't hear that, now come on once we deal with these mercenaries you can rest up so we can butcher the villagers tonight."

Immediately after the said that, the entire temperature of hold of the ship dropped fifteen degrees. Scout sensed a great deal of rage coming from their navigator that he never felt before. The Bashura the entire crew knew was calm and easy-going, but incredibly lazy. He would spend his days down in the hold, predicting weather and informing the crew where to go when the wind changed. Not many of the crew had seen Bashura's face, in fact the only two who had seen him face to face were Sham and Buchi; and no one could ask them what he looked like since the both of them were killed by Roronoa Zoro during their first attack on the Gecko Islands.

"Whoa, hold it there. You stay back! What do you care if we butcher some lowly civilians? We're pirates we can do anything we want!" Scout took a step back out of fear. The anger coming off their navigator spiked up after he said that.

"If I knew that you were going to do that the first time, I would have joined the other crew in defeating you all." Bashura hissed at the eye-patch wearing pirate. "In my culture, attack on the innocents prove you have no honor. And that means the life you were is given is forfeit."

"I knew you would say that." Scout's right hand went to the leather baldric that held four flintlock pistols strapped on his chest.

"I would not do that." The yellow-eyed navigator warned his crew mate.

Scout narrowed his visible eye. He gripped the butt of the pistol positioned over his chest, he pulled it out quickly and shot in the direction where their now former navigator stood. However he didn't hear the sound of a human body hit the floor. Dropping the empty weapon on the ground the spotter of the crew pulled out two more from the baldric on his chest and cocked the hammers back. "Show yourself you yellow belly coward!"

"I'm giving you one last chance, stand down. Tell the Captain to cease and desist, and no one will get hurt."

"Kiss my ass Bashura!" Scout shot one pistol in the direction where he heard the voice.

Several heartbeats passed, this time Scout thought he got him for sure. Picking up his fallen weapon he holstered both his empty ones and turned to walk away. He was not looking forward to telling Kuro that he killed the navigator, but given the circumstances for his betrayal it would be justifiable.

"Your chance has passed."

Turning on his heel Scout pointed his flintlock pistol at the yellow eyes again, this time he was not going to miss. He pulled on the trigger of his weapon, the hammer dropped, the flint hit the frizzen, sparks flew, the flash pan lit up, and the musket ball flew from the barrel. Just as it reached it's halfway mark Bashura threw his weapon.

The sharp end of a harpoon shattered the musket ball and pierced through Scout's chest. The force of the throw was so great that Scout was lifted from his feet, and he soared all the way from the cargo hold to the end of of the hallway; which was no small feet since it a a good sixty feet away from each other. The eye-patch wearing pirate choked in surprise when his back violently hit the wall, the light in his eye dimmed as he looked upon the approaching form of his killer.

"This crew has no pride, no honor." Bashura said before pulled the harpoon out of the dying man. Once he set his weapon to the side he stretched his arms out and hummed lowly. "That is the downfall of this crew."

* * *

><p>"Are you ready!?" Naruto shouted from behind the gunboat.<p>

"No! This is a stupid idea!" Kotetsu hollered back while he stood at the helm, the steering wheel held firmly his hands.

"No, it's an awesome idea!" The blond said before ducking under the water when another volley rang out. Checking to make sure both Kiribachi and Saibannin Kayiouumi were strapped to his back, he gripped the sides of the stern with his powerful hands, and kicking with his legs he bolted forward, pushing the entire boat in front of him.

The tiger shark fishman relied on Kotetsu to steer them away from the incoming cannon balls. Thankfully he relied on the right person to dodge the deadly projectiles. The balls of iron hit the water with awesome force, splashing water upon the deck and the swordsman steering the boat.

Kotetsu dourly spat out a mouthful of seawater, "Uzumaki I swear...oh dear crap." Looking upon the ship up close for the first time, the swordsman looked upon the ship with wide eyes. It was a simple Galleon-class ship with red and black paint, it had an unpainted cat figurehead along with the keel that looked like it was recently replaced, and a pair of black ornamental cat claws on the sides. the hulls on the bottom were green, and from what he was seeing it had a maximum of twenty-two cannons; eleven on each side, plus an unknown amount of swivel guns.

"The Black Cat Pirates!? Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Jerking the wheel to the right the sandy-haired teen maneuvered them behind the ship. As soon as they were in the clear, he jumped away from the helm and landed on the end of the ship. Kotetsu reached his arms into the water and Gripped Naruto's shoulders to get his attention.

Lifting himself out of the water Naruto glared at his 'crew mate' in confusion. "What the hell are you doing?"

"That's the _Bezan Black_. The ship of the late Captain Kuro!"

"...and that's supposed to mean something to me?"

"Maybe not to you, but to me it means an actual ship. And an actual ship means real food and beds. So what we need to do is take this ship as undamaged as possible." Kotetsu said, the pure loathing of the gunboat evident in his voice.

"Oh you're getting tired of spam and fish?" Naruto said with a smirk. The food he could handle, uncomfortable living conditions he could definitely could handle, but that damn gunboat? Hell no. "All right, but tell me this. If we do take this ship how would we work it? There's two of us, and a fuck ton of stuff that needs to be done in order for it to sail."

"What was it you said earlier? 'You forget I'm a fishman'? Well I'm a devil fruit-user, the Flash lash Fruit allows my to move at super high speeds so I can do all of that no problem. Maybe I can even teach you how to work a ship properly. Unless you forgot the thrashing I gave you nearly a week ago." Kotetsu said, puffing his chest out in victory.

"And I seem to recall knocking your ass into the sea." Naruto retorted. The wounds he received from the bipolar teen were nearly healed, but the fruity bastard claiming he won pissed him off to no end. The blond knew he won, because he made a promise to Ace that he would _never_ lose another fight until they had a rematch. And Uzumaki Naruto _never_ broke a promise; being delayed however did not count.

"Whatever you say. Listen I can't swim, but if you can get me close enough to the boat I can jump onto it. And when I'm on, both you and I can defeat these pirates and take over the ship."

"What happened to that 'I won't kill anyone' attitude?"

"Who said I was gonna?"

"Ugh, you humans can never make up your minds."

* * *

><p>"You lost them?" Kuro pushed his glasses up his nose with the palm of his right hand. "Tell me, how could you lose two people and a simple gunboat!"<p>

"I-I-I'm sorry Ca-Captain, but it's true." The unfortunate crew member stuttered out.

"Disappointing, you all disappoint me more and more every day." The Captain of the Black Cat Pirates sighed. Reaching under his pillow he pulled out a pair of black furred gloves with five small metal plates with holes in the middle of them at the ends of the fingers and thumbs. Placing them on his hands he rose from his bed and slowly moved over to the trembling man. "Get out of my sight."

The man was all too happy to leave the presence of his Captain. However before he could fully get away he bumped into a wall of muscle. The crew member was about to lash out, only to realize he was looking at a tattooed muscled stomach, he looked upwards and paled. Not saying a word he backed away and moved around the large man, and once he was clear he bolted away.

"And who are you?" Kuro asked the stranger irritably.

"My name is Bashura, the navigator of your crew. Or at least I used to be." Bashura said, his voice showing no hint of fear; something that irked Kuro greatly.

"A hell of a time to quit." The merciless pirate said. "No matter, by the time this is all over I will have no use of a navigator anyways. Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"No, I'm actually here to stop you."

That statement alone threw Kuro for a loop, of course it only lasted for a second before he began to chuckle. "You're here to stop me? Oh that is rich, I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time."

"'Kuro of a Hundred Plans', you should not laugh. I kept hearing that you were a fearsome leader, and an honorable man from your crew. When they lost their navigator a year ago I happily joined up in hoping, just hoping that I could meet the man the men revered." Bashura gritted his teeth, his yellow eyes glaring at the Black Captain. "Instead I find a butcher of women and children, a man with no honor, no loyalty. Your unjust cruelty killed many men who eagerly awaited your return during the fight with that one crew. And if I knew that your were going to massacre an entire village I would have joined them in defeating you."

Kuro only scoffed and pushed his glasses up his nose with the palm of his hand. "I'm a pirate, and pirate's owe no loyalties to anyone but themselves." He flexed his hands, and at the end of each finger and thumb a katana blade slid out of the small metal plates. The Black Captain smirked looking at his recently repaired gigantic iron claws that, overall, resembled long cat claws with satisfaction. "I wanted to wait a little bit, but I guess I can satisfy my bloodlust with killing you."

Bashura only clenched his meaty palms together. Just like with Scout, Kuro would not stand down, nor would any other member of the crew. "Then forgive me when I kill you."

Before Kuro would even reply, the ex-navigator of the Black Cat Pirates in front of him began to morph into something large, and angry.

* * *

><p>"All right here we go! Ready Uzumaki?" Kotetsu yelled from the helm.<p>

"If it'll get me away from this stupid boat then yes!" Naruto hollered from behind the boat, his hands clutching the sides with advanced eagerness.

Ducking down into the sea, Naruto once again relied on his 'crew mate' to steer while he kicked to get it moving. Once they started moving towards the ship they were planning on boarding in the most asinine ways imaginary there was absolutely no stopping them from doing it. Kotetsu steered the ship to the right to avoid the shots from the swivel guns, jerked to the left to avoid the volley from the starboard side and circled until they reached the stern of the ship.

Tapping into the powers if his devil fruit, Kotetsu jumped from the wheel, disappeared and reappeared on the poop deck with both swords drawn and ready for battle.

"Ah! Shit it's the Marines!" One of the crew members screamed in fear.

It was after the initial surprise Naruto made his appearance by exploding out of the water. He landed right next to the swordsman, his blue eyes glared at the black cat-ear wearing pirates and cracked his knuckles. "So, these are the Black Cat Pirates? They don't look so tough."

"It was Kuro who made this crew fearsome. But when he was captured by the Marines they became more of a nuisance than a threat."

"Well then, this will be easy as pie."

As soon as he said that, the doors separating the deck from the rest of the ship were destroyed. And to the twosome's surprise, a very much alive Captain Kuro was fighting, of all things, a freaking ten foot tall black panther!

The giant humanoid panther was like a walking brick shithouse, the thing looked like it weighed over six-hundred pounds, it's muscles rippled under it's midnight black fur. Claws protruded from the beast's finger tips and toes, it's yellow eyes flashed angrily at the pirate Captain and roared a lout cat-like howl. At first Naruto thought it was a gigantic beast that went awry, but then he noticed was dressed in rough garb. Upon the beast's torso was a black sleeveless vest -that he could barely see-, he was wearing red pants with a brown leather belt, and a top hat with cat ears on the top of it of all things on his head.

Both Kuro and the panther slashed at each other with their claws, both missing each other thanks to both their impressive footwork. Kuro kicked the deck and flipped himself backwards until he was twenty feet away from the ten foot panther. His panting was the only thing that was out of place with his otherwise calm demeanor. "It looks like that fool Jango manage to pick up a precious jewel while I was away. Too bad it wasn't cut until it was smooth, next time I see him I'll kill him for recruiting you."

"It wasn't like he had a lot of choice." Bashura growled, his voice had gained an edge in a predatory nature. "Your last one died, and he asked anyone within the port I was in to join. I volunteered when I saw the insignia, foolishly thinking your crew were ones of honor."

"Again with this honor nonsense. Pirates don't have honor!" Kuro hunched his body somewhat, causing his crew to scream out in terror "I will not have my flans foiled for a second time! Not by you, not by Straw Hat, not anyone!" The Black Captain began to sway back and forth sideways in a fluid manner, necessary in order to enter the _trance_ for his ultimate technique.

"Shit! He's going to use the Shakushi? Everyone run!" The crew members on the ship panicked, man of the running to try and get away, jump over board, anything to get away from their Captain.

But before they could even move, Kuro simply disappeared and the screams erupted from the panicking crew. Slash marks began to appear on their bodies, some bleeding fatally, some were shallow like paper cuts. But they were eviscerated, limbs fatally cut, grievous neck wounds, and many died in the spots they were standing.

Both Naruto and Kotetsu took to the roped and climbed out of the way. Both of them looked on in horror as Kuro killed the members of his crew, mercilessly cutting them into bloody ribbons. But the crew wasn't the only thing he cut into, he also damaged the ship, his claws cut into the mast, the rails of the ship were now as useful as lumber for a fire, he even nicked the steering wheel.

"Good God, what kind of monster would do that to his own crew?" Naruto whispered in horror and rage. Of course he shouldn't have been surprised, if humans could happily kill and enslave his own people without any remorse, that why wouldn't humans do it to their own kind?

"That is the type of man Kuro is." Kotetsu said, his lazy sounding voice betraying his own anger from remembering the massacre on Iron Island. "He holds no regard for life. If anyone gets in the way he kills them regardless if it's his own crew, the Marines, or even women and children. He's nothing more than a monster in human skin."

Kuro's ultimate technique lasted less than a minute, but the damage was completely devastating. Every man on deck was dead and dying, their crimson blood flowing into the cracks of the planks. The damage to the ship was superficial at most, nothing important was cut too deeply, and what was destroyed could be replaced in an afternoon like the ropes for instance. But the ship now smelled of blood and death, it was sickening.

Bashura was not at all amused with the carnage around him. His yellow eyes flashed in anger at the man who butchered his comrades like they were nothing but disposable pawns. "Are you happy now? You didn't even lay a scratch on me."

Kuro only chuckled and pushed his glasses up his nose with the palm of his right hand. "Who says I didn't?"

Not even a second after he said that, several cuts opened along Bashura's body. Many of them were shallow, a good lot didn't bleed and would heal in a few days. The only bad ones were along his thighs, the cuts were deep that it nearly sent the ten foot tall panther to his knees.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I'm on a schedule, and with so many of my men down I need to keep it more than ever." The glasses glinted in the sunlight as the Black Captain hunched his body, and began to sway back and forth.

"We need to do something." Kotetsu clutched both his unsheathed blades in his hands, preparing to leap in to try and defend the wounded man. It was only a strong hand gripping his shoulder that prevented him from doing so.

Naruto looked upon the fight seeing that the giant cat-thing was wounded, didn't necessary mean he was out of the fight just yet. After all, if you back a wounded animal into a corner they get twice as deadly. "Let's see where this fight leads."

Just like before Kuro disappeared and caused nothing but destruction for what ever got in his path. He cut into the dead bodies of his crew, destroyed the rails of the ship, he even came close to cutting both Naruto and Kotetsu on one occasion. He finally got to the back of his enemy, Kuro brought his right arm out to cut his enemy in half at the waist.

Suddenly Bashura's tail shot out and caught Kuro by the waist. Despite having injured legs he spun in circles several times until he released the Black Captain. His targeting was perfect, Kuro flew and hit the giant mast with a loud crack of bone and wood. The Black Captain choked out in surprise as he slid down to the deck, the glasses upon his face falling completely off and onto the deck.

Bowing his head towards his deceased opponent, Bashura turned his back and slowly limped away from the scene of battle. He didn't notice that Kuro shakily stood upon his legs, that last blow broke something in his back, either he slipped a disc or something Kuro didn't know. But the bloodlust now completely overwhelmed him, the thought of a no-name navigator defeating him, and ruining his plans finally drove him over the edge. Drawing into the last of his strength Kuro launched himself as Bashura, his claws flashing in the light, his eyes burning with murderous intent.

He lashed out with is left arm.

And was clotheslined by a tanned, tiger striped muscular arm. Kuro's neck bent at an awkward angle with a loud snap of bone as he fell to the bloody deck of his own ship, his expression taking on a puzzled look as the life finally left his eyes.

Hearing the thump of a body hitting the deck, Bashura turned to see to his surprise a tiger shark fishman. His stomach growled in hunger at the thought of fish, but he crushed that notion right away. He was wounded, and this stranger was fresh...or fresher than him if the gauze on his body was any indication. He looked down at the body of Kuro and raised a furry eyebrow. "Thank you."

"You're welcome...Catman?" Naruto said, unsure of what to call the thing in front of him.

Bashura chuckled in mirth, it was a good name but completely wrong at the same time. Deactivating the powers bestowed upon him the giant panther shrank about two feet, his fur, claws, ears, muzzle, and tail retracted into his body. It was then Naruto was greeted with an eight foot tall human with dark brown skin, and yellow eyes. His entire face was devoid of hair, four golden looped earrings were pierced through his ears; two on each side, two rested upon his earlobes and two more nearing the cartilage area. His entire body was packed with hard muscle from years of heavy lifting, and his _entire torso and face_ were covered in bizarre tattoos completely in black ink.

Naruto couldn't make heads or tails of them, they were in a language he couldn't understand. Upon his chest was a circle with what looked an ancient calender with various lines trailing across his chest to his shoulders and biceps. His stomach area had two thick lines going across his abs and stopping in the middle with eleven black dots of various sizes resting a few centimeters over them, and various more going down his abs until they disappeared below his wrists held various, thick black lines that trailed up his forearms while all ten of his fingers trailing from near the fingernails to the knuckles, hell he even saw the same black spots on both his elbows! But it was his face that was purely terrifying, for it was covered in the same thick black lines that covered his chin, mouth, cheekbones, and even where his eyebrows were supposed to be, and even an inch above them. The dots were there too, four going from his forehead to the bridge of his nose, and ten going in between the middle the the two lines arching upon his face.

But in spite of his terrifying appearance, Bashura smiled and greeted Naruto with a low, but friendly voice. "My name is Bashura."

"Uh, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto blinked in response to the greeting.

"And I'm Kotetsu." Kotetsu greeted the big man with a smile and wave. "It's so good to see another friendly human being!"

"He's not a human, the man's a werepanther." Naruto said in annoyance.

"Dude, sorry to burst your bubble but he's a devil fruit-user like me." Kotetsu said, all too happy to pop the fishman's bubble.

"What!?"

* * *

><p>A few hours later the <em>Bezan Black<em> was completely clear of bodies and ready to sail. Naruto figured it would not be a good idea for them to head into the island, from the Catman's information they-or at least one would recognize the ship, and that would give them more problems then they needed.

While it was in good shape, the ship was pretty damaged during the fight between Bashura and Kuro, the inside of the ship was a complete bloodbath. The cannon rooms had the torn bodies of various crew members that could only be picked up using a fork, blood stained the walls of the ship along with deep claw marks that made the place look like a horror house from hell.

On the positive side however, minus it being a huge mess and needing a good bleaching, the ship was in great condition. The cannons were still fully functional, the kitchen was well stocked and completely undamaged, the munitions room was also undamaged, albeit a little depleted. And there was space! Oh such glorious elbow room and a freaking bathroom!

However there was one thing that did not set right with Naruto at all. "Are you sure you're not a werepanther?" He asked the giant man.

"Hahaha! Oh no I'm not, it's as your friend said I ate a devil fruit called the Cat-Cat Fruit: Model Black Panther." Bashura assured the blond with a gigantic smile.

"How the hell does that work? I mean this insane bastard," He pointed at Kotetsu, who was helping them piling the bodies into the gunboat. "Flashes all over the place, I could barely hit him like I did with Ace."

"Ace? You don't mean Portgas D. Ace, do you?" Kotetsu asked after hearing the name.

"Yes, he and I fought some time ago. One hell of a fight too, but he kicked my ass real good." The blond admitted, he wasn't ashamed of it. After all he did declare the man his rival after all, even if he was a human.

"I'm not surprised, he did eat a Logia-type fruit after all."

"A what now?" Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Are you serious? You grew up in the Grand Line! How did you not know this stuff!?" Kotetsu demanded.

"Well sorry for growing up on Fishman Island where my species never ate some stupid fruit." Naruto retorted before tossing Kuro's glassless-less and gloveless body onto the gunboat with the other meat sacks. "Where I come from we swim in the ocean to survive, if you can't swim you're as good as dead. So that's my reason for not knowing what these "types" of devil fruits are."

"Ugh, all right since we're done tossing the bodies into the boat, allow me to teach you something that will save your life one day."

"Yea, no thanks. I rather not learn something as pointless as overpowered fruit assholes." Naruto said, waving a hand dismissively.

Ignoring the comment the swordsman tried it from a different approach. "I can also teach you their weaknesses."

"Submerge them in water, and boom they're done."

"That's not the only way." Bashura said, alerting the both of them. "You only learn if you listen." He continued to prove his point as he poured lantern oil on the bodies, getting them ready for a nice viking funeral.

"Ugh, fine. Whatever." Naruto groaned in defeat as he sat down on the deck. What harm would come of learning something new? After all it could give him an edge over Ace in their next fight.

"All right. First let's start with the classes..."

* * *

><p>(Several Days Later)<p>

"Argh! Are we there yet!" Naruto asked for what seemed like the billionth time that day.

"We won't arrive at Lougetown for another few days Cap'n." Bashura said calmly, his voice showing no evident of any irritation from Naruto's complaining.

"For the last time I am not your Captain!" Naruto bellowed hotly, which only caused Bashura to laugh loudly.

Several days passed since the encounter with Kuro and since Bashura joined his crew. Well he couldn't call them a crew per say, they were more of three jackasses who happened to band together under much needed circumstances. Naruto needed to head home, Kotetsu needed asylum, and Bashura desired to travel the world; plus he was the only one who knew how to navigate through the seas(2). It was clear all three of them were pretty strong, and now with a navigator in their midst the former twosome were now a step closer to Fishman Island.

"This would go faster if you had something to occupy yourself!" Kotetsu shouted from the crows nest.

"Well excuse me for not having two swords to clean every single day!"

"Leave my swords out of this!"

Naruto only sighed as he laid on the deck of the ship. He had already done his training for the day, he didn't need to clean anything anymore, whatever repairs would have been done; have been done, and he couldn't practice with his axe due to the fact he might accidentally destroy one of the masts. "Hey Bashura, is there anything Black Cat related we need to get rid of?"

"Not since we burned the bodies and I tore those ears off my hat."

"Right...shit." How could he forget? After Kotetsu gave his boring lecture about the devil fruits, the three of them burned the bodies on the small gunboat giving them a quickish funeral; even though that bastard Kuro didn't deserve it, oh well at least he kept his gloves and glasses as trophies. Afterwards the three of them destroyed everything Black Cat related in order to make the ship seem more like theirs-minus the barrels with their logo on it, the stuff in there was vital to their survival on the sea.

Bashura tore the unpainted cat head off the heel and tossed it into the ocean, Kotetsu chopped off the fingers; leaving a smooth surface by the way, while he had the honor of taking down the flag and tossing it into the sea. But after that, all the three had to do was eat some simple sandwiches and drink whatever was available; since none of them could cook worth a damn. Train in their respective skills for as much as they could, and then sleep on comfortable beds; after taking shifts to make sure they weren't attacked.

That was a week ago, and now Naruto was bored. Man what would he have to do to get some excitement around here?

"Hey Uzumaki, I see something!" Kotetsu call from above them.

"Oh thank God!" Naruto leapt to his feet, and began to climb up the rope going towards the crows nest. "What is it? Pirates? Marines? A Sea King!?" He could honestly care less who or what it was, as long as he got to do something to fight his boredom.

"...actually it's a boat." Kotetsu sweat-dropped when the blond hopped into the crows nest.

"A boat?"

"Lifeboat actually. Here look."

Taking the telescope handed to him, Naruto peered through the glass and saw a simple lifeboat with a man collapsed in it. He furrowed his brows deciding whether to help or leave him. His gut was telling him to leave the man's ass out to dry, but the brain told him to go do it. Of course Hody's teachings told him that one less human in the world was a good thing, but then Otohime's teaching and gentleness begged him to help a person in need...dammit it all to hell.

"What direction is he in?"

"To the east."

"Hey Bashura, turn to the east!"

"Aye, aye Cap'n!"

"Don't call me that!"

After Bashura turned the ship to the east and got close enough to lay anchor, Naruto was the one who jumped overboard and pulled the lifeboat towards their ship. After latching two boarding hooks in the iron loops he hollered at the two to pull it on up. Once both Bashura and Kotetsu pulled the lifeboat up to the side of the ship, they pulled the unconscious man out before dropping the lifeboat into the water again.

"All right who is this guy?" Naruto questioned them.

"I dunno." Bashura placed his fingers on the man's neck, "He's still alive, dehydrated, exhausted..." He heard the man's stomach growl angrily. "And hungry."

"Yea I get that, what about you?" Hearing no response Naruto looked to see Kotetsu's wide eyes. "Kotetsu?"

"Holy crap! Don't you know who this guy is?" Kotetsu demanded.

Looking down at the unconscious man Naruto saw that he was relatively thin, more than likely stood at an average height with tan skin, short, scruffy black hair, a scruffy beard, and a slight mustache. He had dark circles under his eyes, almost like he lacked sleep. He had both his ears pierced with two red spherical earrings on each year, wore a bloodstained green t-shirt that exposed several stitched scars on his arms, ratty gray pants, and worn brown boots. Weapon-wise he had one flintlock pistol, a double-barreled shotgun, and a pair of tonfa tipped with heavy iron balls that were the same size as cannonballs.

"Uh, should I?" Naruto asked.

"That's Gin the "Demon Man", a infamous member of the Krieg Pirates worth ten million beli." The sandy-haired teen said.

"How do you know all this crap?" The tiger shark fishman demanded.

"Being a Marine has it's a advantages."

Bashura picked the unconscious man up easily in his arms, and was quite alarmed at how light he was. "Now's not the time to dilly dally, this man is in dire need of medical care." He heard another loud growling noise coming from the man's stomach. "And for the love of Yojo, get this man a sandwich."

* * *

><p>It would take a day before Gin awoke from his slumber. Immediately he wished he didn't, both his arms were screaming at him for rowing for untold amount of days. His head ached like crazy, his stomach was growing like an angry animal. God everything was pain!<p>

"Ah, I see you're awake." Snapping his head towards the voice, Gin was surprised to see a tiger shark fishman looking square at him. "Hey, Bashura he's awake!"

_'Bashura? What's a-oh my God!' _Gin mentally screamed in surprise seeing a big savage-looking man walk into his room.

"Ah, at least you aren't dead." Bashura settled onto the stool he placed next to Gin's bed, his entire weight caused the wood to creak loudly. The Zoan devil fruit-user placed his big meaty right hand upon Gin's forehead, and nodded in satisfaction. "No fever, good." He then picked up a glass of water he placed on the night stand next to him. "Drink."

Gin drank from the glass, not completely by choice since the big man was practically forcing the water the water down his throat. But soon he he managed to get the entire thing down his throat and into his stomach. "Ack, warm."

"Yea, we thought you would wake up sooner." Naruto said with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Now tell us, what the hell were you doing out in the sea?"

"Running, and planning to die." Gin answered them truthfully, much to their surprise.

"Say what now?"

"I should have been dead weeks ago. Krieg's MH5 poison gas always proves fatal, and I'm no exception." Gin coughed violently, hard enough that spittle's of blood landed upon Bashura's vest. "Many have died in minutes, the unlucky ones hours...how I survived for this long is beyond me."

"Hold on a second. Kotetsu!" Naruto shouted from the top of his lungs.

A few seconds afterwards the ex-Marine appeared next to the bedside, surprising the weakened Gin by some degree. "You called Captain?" Kotetsu smirked, which caused Bashura to chuckle in amusement.

"For the last time I'm not your Captain." Naruto sighed in annoyance. While it was good to be called the Captain of this...crew he guessed, he honestly wished it was a bunch of fishmen that called him that instead of humans. "Ugh, anyways. You're the guy who knows about pirates. This guy sprouted out the name Krieg and something called MH5, can you explain who or what they are."

"Yesterday I said he was a member of his crew." Kotetsu palmed his forehead at the fishman's absentmindedness. "Don Krieg. Or better known as "Foul Play Krieg" is a ruthless pirate who's main talent is skulduggery, and commands an armada of pirate ships. From what I remember he has nearly an unlimited amount of weapons on his person, and has a bounty of seventeen million beli on his head."

"Your information is a little old there." Gin coughed in pain. "Krieg does not have that armada of his anymore, it was all destroyed by "Hawk-Eyes" Mihawk when we entered the Grand Line. All fifty ships and five-thousand men gone in barely ten minutes, many of the survivors starved to death when we tried to retreat from that monster." The weakened man stopped for a few minutes to steady himself, "I was captured by the Marines, disguised as Krieg..."

When Gin started hacking again Bashura left his stool and brought back another glass of water, this time a cold one with ice cubes and a straw. "Come on, drink, spit in the empty one."

Gin did as in instructed, drinking from the glass and spitting the pinkish water out into the empty one he laid back again before repeating the process several times before he could drink again without the coppery taste of blood in him mouth. "Ahh, thank you. You have no idea how much I needed that."

"You can thank us by telling us the rest of your tale. Come on Gin, we're not the bad guys here." Kotetsu said, being rather patient with all this.

"Ugh, I won't bore you with the small details. But I escaped from my capture, was provided a meal from a chef named Sanji at the Baratie and left. A few days later I brought Don Krieg and the rest of my crew the the Baratie." He noticed their looks of disbelief and explained his actions. "They were starving, do any of you know the _pain _of starving to death?" He trailed off, his face tight with pain from the experience. "It was pure hell, a torture beyond belief."

"Yea...I kinda know what that was like." Surprisingly it was Naruto who knew what Gin went through. The years of residing in the Fishman District taxed his young body to the breaking point. Whether it was starving, sickness, or fighting in the pits it nearly broke him; hell it could have broken him if not for Jinbe's timely arrival.

"Then you know why I brought them, I could not have them die like dogs. They fed us out of pity, but it was enough for use to regain our strength. I was hoping we would just leave, but then Krieg...he had us attack them in order to take their ship. A fight insured, Mihawk arrived and left, I took the head chef hostage and was ordered to execute him and the other chef who saved me life." Gin laid back, am expression of pain and shame etched upon his face. "I just couldn't do it, and that was when Krieg unleashed his MH5 gas on everyone. It was out of fear from the man that I threw my gas mask away."

"You did what!?" Bashura exclaimed loudly.

"I threw it away. At that time I feared him more than I death. But the chef's...well they did their best to heal me with various antidotes for poison, it may have been the only thing keeping me alive until now. I lost consciousness for a time, but awoke just long enough to see that Straw Hat kid defeat Krieg." He coughed violently again, but thankfully no blood came up this time. "Afterwards...I realized that Krieg was not the strongest, and since he pretty much disowned me from the crew I decided to start anew after I dropped them off on a sparsely populated island."

"So let me get this straight. You followed a complete psychopath because you feared him, but after he was beaten by this...Straw Hat kid you had some sort of 'revelation' and left the crew _after_ you set them on a random island." Naruto relayed the information said to him in simpler terms.

"Pretty much."

_'That has to be one of the dumbest things I ever heard in my life.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"It doesn't matter any longer. I doubt I'll last another week in my condition." Gin said as he rested his head on the pillow, his already waning strength draining down to nothing.

"I doubt it will come to that, just rest, you're among friends here." Bashura said, his voice surprisingly sincere. What was he planning?

"Uh, wait a second. Kotetsu, if you're up here who is keeping a look out?" Naruto asked.

"Uhh..."

They were all answered when the ship was rocketed by the sound of cannon fire, and the sound of wood snapping like twigs caused Naruto to scream out in anger. "Dammit! Bashura, Kotetsu topside! Ready the yourselves if we're going to get boarded."

"Got it!" Kotetsu disappeared from sight using his devil fruit power, and left a mirage in his wake that faded after a few seconds.

"Aye, aye!" Bashura bounded out of the room, his face set in grim determination.

"And you...just stay put." Naruto barely spared a glance at Gin before heading up to the deck.

Once the three got upon the deck, they were floored seeing a freaking man-of-war class battle ship anchored next to them. The thing was two-hundred feet long with three mighty masts, and what looked like over one-hundred and twenty-four guns. But most of all it had the Marine insignia on the sails!

"Dammit Kotetsu, you're becoming more trouble than you're worth!" Naruto muttered to the swordsman.

"Those are not the Marines. Look at the flag." Kotetsu pointed out the obvious.

Squinting his blue eyes, the fishman saw that it was a black flag that had the standard Jolly Roger with sideburns on it's cheekbones, and two hourglasses to the sides. "Ah shit, pirates. Who are they this time?"

"The Krieg Pirates."

"Are you shitting me!?"

"I don't think he is Cap'n." Bashura said.

"This is unbelievable. Not even a day ago we find a former member of their crew half-dead in the ocean, and now this! God why do I attract these sorts of people!"

Instead of getting an answer from the two strays he picked up, it was Don Krieg who barked at him from a loud speaker on his ship. "You three on the ship! Surrender and prepare to be boarded!"

"Is he serious?" Naruto sweat-dropped.

"Apparently." Bashura answered with a deadpan expression.

"You have until the count of ten! One...two..-" Krieg never even got to the count of three. The threesome came at them with a running start, leapt the distance that separated their ships, and landed with their weapons in hand.

Naruto decided to forgo his anchor axe, by leaving it on the bow of the ship, and Arlong's Kiribachi was hanging upon the wall of the room he called for himself. Instead he relied on his fists since it had been far too long since he fought with only them. Meeting the first member of he punched him directly in the face for an instant knock out, twirling on his heel he lashed out with a powerful kick that struck three members in the chest and sent them flying backwards. Several men came up, swords flashing in the light raised to slice into him.

Naruto only gave them his infamous shark-like smirk that would haunt them for months. He gabbed two men by their wrists, his iron grip causing them to cry out in pain and drop their swords. The blond fishman then lifted them easily over his head and spun on his heels, causing him to look like a mini-tornado and used the two unfortunate men to slam into their comrades with violent force. Naruto spun like this for barely a minute before letting the men in his grip go-and by go I mean they flew face first into the wooden walls of the ship.

"Oh come on people, at least give me a challenge!" Naruto demanded at the thirty fearful men surrounding him, and the moaning twenty men laying at his feet.

With Kotetsu he was also wrapping up his minor skirmish. His blades flashed with non-lethal force, the flat of his blades hitting the forearms of the crew, knocking them out with powerful kicks, and jumping and fooling them into slashing his afterimages.

"Dammit this bastard's fast!" Hustle, the Combat Instructor of the Krieg Pirates yelled.

"And he's just toying with us too!" Kagikko, the Locksmith of the crew growled in anger.

"Well, he won't won't beat the twenty of us when we gang up on him!" Ideaman, the Staff Officer of Planning shouted when he raised his flintlock pistol to shoot the sandy-haired teen.

"Fuck yea!" The twenty men surrounding him bellowed. Following Ideaman's plan, they all pulled out some sort of firearm, and settled them upon Kotetsu's form.

"Hmph, Mirage Sword Style: Moon's Gentle Touch." Drawing upon his devil fruit's powers, Kotetsu disappeared and the sound of steel cutting into flesh resounded throughout the deck of the ship. Reappearing ten feet away, Kotetsu sheathed both his swords and the men fell to the ground stiff as boards.

"Wha-What the hell?" Hustle moved his muscular right arm to try and get up, only to scream as a cut in his bicep opened up.

"I wouldn't move too much. I didn't cut you guys too deep, but they were deep enough to the point that if you try to move, let alone attack me they will open."

"What?" Ideaman grunted out in pain.

"In idiot's terms, my attack is non-fatal and can easily be healed. But that will change if you move at all, and if you're too stupid to understand that let me make it clear. You move, you die. It's as simple as that." Kotetsu stood over them with a triumphant grin. Nobody died, and that was a victory for him.

For Bashura who was equipped with with a larger than normal tomahawk that was clutched firmly in his right hand, instead of his trusty harpoon. The weapon itself didn't look all that special, the wood was four feet in length with tribal markings running along the enlarged, upper portion of it, and had simple large steel axe head that shined in the sunlight. The Zoan devil fruit-user twirled it in his hand with great expertise, as he looked at his two opponents.

The first was a towering man, wearing a yellow shirt and purple shorts that went to the his knees. One large iron plate covered his backside, as well as two small plates with large pearls embedded in them that rested upon his knees, elbows and hands, hell he even had pearls on his shoes and his freaking head! The man laughed in an obnoxious surfer accent that ruined his otherwise handsome face. "Oh dude, Captain we got ourselves some strong ones."

Don Krieg only looked upon the three fighters defeating his crew with disdain in his cruel black eyes. He was a tall, muscular man, with short cut gray hair and long sideburns. After his fight with Luffy he lost a good majority of his armor and weapons. His signature golden wootz steel armor was missing his chest plate, shoulder guards, and his porcupine cape. All he had left weapon-wise was a simple flintlock pistol, his diamond embedded gauntlets hidden by his black fur-lined gloves, a wrist-mounted flamethrower on his left gauntlet, and a iron net mounted launcher on his right one. All he had left attire-wise was a brown shirt, light-purple pants, a brown belt. and his black shoes.

"Kill them Pearl." He ordered the invincible iron wall of his crew. "All of you get up! None of you are allowed to fall unconscious until you do so!"

Krieg's demanding voice caused an immense amount of fear within his crew. It was just like Gin said, they feared Krieg more than they feared death itself. So, despite their bodies protests, they stood up on their own two feet. Blood from the wounds Kotetsu inflicted upon them opened up and ran down their bodies like a river, the one's Naruto downed with his powerful fists rose to their feet despite any broken bones, or concussions they had.

"The fuck? He wasn't kidding when he said Krieg ruled his crew through fear." Naruto said, completely disgusted at the method one would go to ensure loyalty to his crew.

"Well, duh. He may be a pirate, but he sure isn't a liar." Kotetsu remarked. He gripped his swords tight in his hands to prevent them from shaking, it seemed the only way to end this was to kill them all.

"Disgusting, I can smell the wickedness coming from his body." Bashura holstered his tomahawk onto his belt. He flexed his fingers, preparing to draw upon his devil fruit powers to transform him into his humanoid panther form.

Don Krieg only smirked. "Get them boys."

"Stand down!" A familiar voice to the crew caused them to halt their actions. Turning their head towards the right where the Galleon-class ship was hooked, their eyes widened in surprise, some thought they were seeing a ghost. It was Gin, their former Combat Commander of the crew standing under his own power with his signature tonfa with iron balls on the ends clutched in his hands. The black-haired man was sweating up a storm, and panting heavily, but still alive.

"Gin!" Krieg bellowed in hot rage. "How dare you show your face around me!"

"Not my intention, _Captain_." Gin spat out his title like it was poison. "I was free from you, free from your fear. But it looks like fate had other ideas in mind." He coughed violently, hacking up globs of blood that stained his already ruined shirt. "I guess I couldn't die before I dealt with you once and for all."

"Hahaha! You deal with me? Of Gin, you are still nothing more than the punk I picked up from all those years ago." Reaching behind his back, Krieg pulled out his simple flintlock pistol from the holster on his belt, cocked the hammer back and aimed it at his former crew mate. "You're nothing more than a dog, a dog that followed me blindly for years! And like a bad dog you must be put down for your disobedience! Men attack!"

"I SAID STAND DOWN!" Gin roared at the top of his lungs, a roar that was so loud that nearly the entire crew fell unconscious with foam welling up in their mouths. It wasn't necessarily what he had planned, but it had to do. The former member of the Krieg Pirates used the last of his depleting strength to bolt forward, spinning the tonfa in his right hand at high speeds, he swung, and hit a wobbly Don Krieg square in the face. The blow made the pirate let out a painful squeak as the iron ball cracked his skull, and was flung to the ground with such violent force that it cracked the deck.

Panting in exhaustion and pain, Gin looked at a completely terrified Pearl. Despite the blood falling from the corners of his lips, he spoke his final orders to the remaining members of his crew. "The Krieg Pirates are finished Pearl. When they wake up, head for a populated island, I do not care which. When you're halfway there, sink this ship and give up being a pirate. This is not a request, this is an _order_. And if you do not fulfill this order I will drag myself out of hell and make you suffer! You understand me Pearl?" (3)

"A-h, y-y-ye-yea, of c-ourse dude." Pearl barely managed to stutter out before he too fell unconscious.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Naruto exclaimed in respect. And could you blame him? All Gin did was yell, and boom, nearly seventy men were knocked out.

_'Haki?'_ Kotetsu narrowed his eyes in suspicion at the coughing man. _'First Kuro, then Krieg, and now this guy. The Marine's info have been way off for these guys, even if I have been on the run for a few months.' _He then looked at the unmoving form of Don Krieg and bent down to see if he was even alive, to his surprise 'Foul Play Krieg' was still alive. "Hey, Krieg's still alive!"

"You're kidding me?" Naruto walked over to the defeated man, and gave him a swift kick in the ribs. Krieg groaned in pain soon afterwards. "Well son of a bitch, this asshole is more sturdier than I thought. Want me to finish the job?"

"No, don't kill him." Gin coughed several times, this time needing Bashura to support his weight. "I want him to pay for what he's done, and the only way I can think of having him suffer the greatest indignity of defeat is handing him over to the Marines."

"Then it looks like Lougetown is the was to go." Bashura grinned a disturbingly cat-like grin.

_'And more trouble it looks like.'_ Naruto thought to himself.

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Hey everyone, well it's been a while, but I got a chapter out for all of you. Now you see some numbers, those are just things I feel I need to explain.<p>

(1) This is a true fact, pirates covered their eyes with eye-patches to see in the dark for night raids. It worked in a minor degree if Mythbusters showed me anything, but I felt it was needed since cat's can see in the dark. And since Kuro's entire crew is cat-themed...well you get the point.

(2) Now before any of you start bitching that I'm adding in too many OC's, listen to me right now. Naruto is in the East Blue, I checked every source that I could and could find Nami being the only navigator from that part of the ocean. Now I could of used Nojiko like Kenchi618, but that would have been ripping him off, and I respect the man far too much to do that; plus it's pretty damn dickish. So instead of trying to find a character that either made a one second appearance, or too goody-too-shoes would make no sense being in the crew, so instead Agurra of the Darkness came up with this guy who is a warrior with good navigational skills. And if you know your literature, he is based on a character on a famous book. If you know it, the feel proud of yourself. Ahem, but anyways he is the second and last OC that will join the crew, no more from here on out, plus I bet you guys will like him.

(3) Yes, Gin is the third guy to join the crew. He is by far one of my most favorite characters in One Piece, and did not get the recognition he deserved. Honestly, he was strong enough to kick Sanji's ass, destroy Pearl's so-called invincible shield, managed to survive Krieg's poisonous gas, and knocked Krieg out after he refused to quit to boot! Plus I read up on him, he feared Krieg as much as he respected him, but wanted to leave him due to Krieg being...well the wrong guy he should follow. So now I'm giving him that chance, yes he's not a top notch right now, but he'll survive.

Also, please leave a good review. Not a 'good chapter' crap review, I, and many other authors like me work very hard on these chapters. We deserve a little more than 'good chapter', that just pisses us off most of the time.


	9. Logue town? More like clusterfuck town!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. Wait on second thought, maybe I could become a pirate myself and terrorize Japan's seas until they give me the rights. That won't backfire on me right fellas?

"Talk" Talking

'_Think_' Thinking

* * *

><p>"Ugghh." The tied up form of Don Krieg moaned pitifully. The once feared pirate of the East Blue was now reduced to a shadow of his former self, he was thoroughly stripped of whatever weapons remained on him, his hands and feet bound, and he was starved for two whole days since his defeat. Despite his situation however, the former Captain of the now disbanded Krieg Pirates glared at Naruto, his head restrained in a leather device to keep his mouth from moving too much due to the right side of his jaw being shattered. The worst part was they didn't give him anything to dull the pain. Sadistic bastards!<p>

"I know you're hurting Krieg, but in all honesty you're lucky enough to be alive. If Gin wasn't as weak as he was, you would be dead." Naruto shrugged his broad shoulders in an uncaring manner, honestly he didn't give a damn if Krieg died or not, he was a pitiful creature among humans and that was saying something as far as mankind was concerned.

"Yersh is gonha pay fo 'is!" Krieg attempted to bark at the blond fishman in a desperate attempt to cow him into letting him go free. All he managed though was to drool all over himself, and look like an idiot. It was almost enough to make Naruto laugh. Almost.

"Says the pitiful human with a broken jaw, cracked ribs, and looking like a half-starved mutt." Naruto continued to mock the man. "Listen to me, your crew is disbanded. I wouldn't be surprised if they went all the way to the end of the world to escape from you. And we're not too far off from Loguetown, when we get there I'm taking your ass to the Marines for that bounty on your head."

Krieg narrowed his cruel eyes at the man watching over him and began to struggle against his restraints. It was no use of course, the manacles were made out of strong iron and steel that had already cut into his wrists and ankles.

A rapping on the door to the temporary brig ended the struggling. Naruto stood up and opened the door to see Bashura greeting him with a smile, the big man crouched down and entered the room without too much difficulty. "How's the other guy holding up?"

"He's resting for now, the poison is still ravaging his body." Bashura said, his voice holding a little bit of sadness for Gin's condition. "He has a strong will, most men would have given up by now. He sure is something else, isn't he Cap'n?"

"Yea, I guess he is." Naruto's right eyebrow twitched in annoyance, seriously he was not their Captain. "How long until until we hit Loguetown?"

"One hour tops."

"Good, because the sooner we get there, the sooner we can-"

"Dammit Uzumaki! When are you going to take Arlong's head out of the freezer!" Kotetsu's voice shouted at them from the kitchen, impressive considering that the kitchen was two floors above them.

"So that will not be an issue anymore." Naruto sighed irritably. "I'll come get you when I see the island, and hopefully we won't have to deal with this crap anymore."

An hour later Naruto and his three hitch hikers and one prisoner reached the docks of Loguetown. Stepping off the ramp Naruto stretched his arms out and sighed in satisfaction, while the ship was wonderful compared to that stupid gunboat, nothing beat dry land. It was a sentiment shared by both Kotetsu and Bashura when they stepped onto the planks, the latter holding the bound form of Don Krieg.

"All right, Kotetsu do you know anything about this place?" Naruto asked the sandy-haired swordsman.

"Loguetown is the birthplace of Gold Roger the "Pirate King", and it was also his place of death. The island is mainly a tourist attraction for civilians and passing pirates to come and view the execution platform Roger died on. However there is a love-hate relationship on the island between visiting pirates and the Marines that inhabit it. Just don't do any law breaking and they'll leave you alone." Kotetsu paused for a second before palming his head. "But this was before I was assigned to Iron Island, just be careful guys."

"Will do crew mate Kotetsu." Bashura grinned before handing Krieg over to Naruto, he then noticed the slightly wet burlap sack clutched in his right hand. "Cap'n, you're really taking a head into the Marine Base? Would they deny you the money because of your...species?"

"They damn well better not." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the thought, and seeing Kotetsu not so subtly gesture at the improvised cloak he was wearing, the blond shook his head. "And I'm not going to hide myself either. It would not only shame me, but my entire race to hide who I am." Slinging Krieg over his shoulder like he was luggage, and tying the burlap sack on his belt, Naruto began to walk towards the Marine Base.

"Did you even tell him where to find the Marine Base?" Bashura asked with a raised non-existent eyebrow.

"Nope, he didn't ask." Kotetsu repressed the urge to laugh.

"You are a mean little man."

* * *

><p>"Son of a bitch, where the hell is this place?" Naruto grumbled to himself.<p>

For almost half an hour the tiger shark fishman found himself wandering aimlessly through the streets of Lougetown. Krieg had long since gained consciousness and tried kicking his way to freedom, but he was knocked out several more times by Naruto slamming him into the ground, ans scaring the hell out of the general populace.

Finally when the fortieth minute ticked by he had enough and turned his attention towards the nearest humans. "Hey, do you know where I can find the Marine Base?"

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. How much is this information worth to ya?" Naruto rolled his eyes when his two buddies chuckled and patted their buddy on the back. Great, of all people he had to run into hoodlums.

"Never mind, I'm going to ask someone with a little more common sense." Before he could take two steps, the three hoodlums surrounded him in a triangle formation.

"Now hold it there fishie." The first hoodlum he spoke to, a lanky young man with red hair pulled a pair of brass knuckles and palmed his empty hand.

"You think you can just walk by us without paying the toll? Your kind needs to do it after all." Another one sneered at him. He had a black leather jacket with matching shoes, blue jeans and a greasy pompadour.

"Hey fishie, before we take your tax. Tell me, are your kind cannibals? I mean you eat fist after all." The final one was ugly as sin, and wore a red hoodie, black pants and green sandals.

Naruto only gave them a dull stare, and for once he was actually wishing he was around the three jackasses that he was traveling with. At least _they_ weren't three bumbling racist retards. "Okay, three things. One; you three are ignorant. Fish are a completely different from my species, so it is _not_ cannibalism." He snarled at the mere thought at being called a cannibal, yes he bit off Kuroobi's and Saint Mjosgard's fingers, and Arlong's pectoral muscle, but he spat them out god dammit! "Second; I don't like your faces, your ugly human faces. And three..." Pivoting on his right heel, Naruto used Don Krieg as a club and batted the three idiots into nearby buildings. "Did you really try to rob a _fishman_? You're lucky enough that I find you unworthy to snap in half!"

Feeling satisfied that he beat the hell out of three idiots, the blond walked away from the scene of his assault and batter. It wouldn't be until later before he realized he still had no idea where he was going.

* * *

><p>While Naruto was busy getting himself lost, Bashura found himself raising a non-existent eyebrow at the populace backing away from him like the plague. Was he really that scary? I mean yes, he was an eight foot tall, heavily tattooed man with a tomahawk holstered on his belt, and a harpoon clutched in his hands. But he had a top hat, everybody loved top hats right?<p>

Eh, it really didn't matter right now. Instead he was heading towards the nearest medical store thanks to Kotetsu's directions. He as no doctor in any sense of the word, but he did know a thing or two about poisons, not just how to make them but how to cure yourself of them...well by 'cure' I mean he knew how to make the person get stabilized until they could get themselves a real doctor to help with Gin's condition.

"Okay, let's see..." Bashura held note in his hands as he tried to read Kotetsu's chicken scratch writing. "I'm a little surprised, wouldn't a swordsman have good calligraphy skills?" Narrowing his yellow eyes the savage-looking man barely made out the words 'across from the Gold Roger Bar'. He looked up and saw the sign for the 'Gold Roger Bar' on his left side, then looking to his right he saw the sign for 'Doc Oc's'(1). "Doc Oc? What a strange name."

Shrugging his gigantic shoulders, Bashura entered the medical store just as Luffy was leaving the bar. Immediately he was greeted by walls of various roots and herbs. Splints, crutches, gauze and even a defibrillator. "Hmm, neat."

"Oh, hello sir!" A cheerful, sophisticated voice made Bashura turn his attention to the side. He was greeted with the sight of a medium-sized man with dark brown hair that was shaped into a bowl cut, and thick spectacles. Attire-wise he was dressed as a typical doctor with a white medical coat and dark blue scrubs. Thankfully for him the man didn't seem frightened of his stature. "I am Doctor Octavius, and this is my shop. What can I do for you?"

"Oh, um yes. Do you have any leaches?" Bashura casually asked.

"Uh, leaches?" The doctor had not been expecting that question. "Son, why do you need leeches?"

"I need them to help such the blood from my crew mate. He has been severely poisoned for over three weeks, and if I do not do something soon he could very well perish."

"Hmm I see." Octavius headed behind the counter and began shifting studying the labels. He scoffed seeing what wouldn't work, fiddled with his glasses, and tapped his right foot before finding what he needed. He packed two handfuls of herbs into separate clear bags, found another and did it the same exact way. The bowl-haired man then labeled them with a pen and placed them on his counter. However before he rang them up he went to the back room and came out with a jar full of leaches, a bottle full of pills, and another bag full of shredded green leaves.

"All right, this here is Mugwort." The doctor pointed at the first herb he packaged. "Make sure he drinks this with some sort of tea. It will induce sweating, promote appetite and bile production, and tonic for digestion. It will also provide tonic for nerves; and is a mild sedative. I mainly use this for bronchitis, colds, and fevers. But it can be used for colic, and kidney ailments." He then pointed at he second one. "This is Crabapple, it will cleanse the system, make sure your crew mate is near the bathroom because it is pretty powerful stuff. The pills are antibiotics, these green leaves will help create antitoxins, but the leaches...well you can take them if you want."(2)

"How much will all this cost?" Bashura asked. He figured he had enough funds after they pilfered from the bodies of the dead, and robbed a quarter of Krieg's man-of-war battle ship, but it didn't hurt to ask.

"Three-hundred and eighty-nine beli. It's a little pricey I know, but-" The sound of paper and coin hitting the counter caused him to blink. That certainly was fast, and he didn't even give his 'this is pricey but worth it speech', after all his shop was the best in in town.

"Can I get a satchel for this?"

After Bashura left the shop with his items in tow, the savage-looking man's nose smelled something sweet. He blinked several times and followed the scent, he passed through alley's, walked down several streets, and even accidentally walked through a house; scaring the occupants, until he came across a small happy girl with a five layered ice cream cone.

He stopped right in front of her, scaring both her, and her dad. Bashura for once had a serious look on his face and knelt down, his yellow eyes burned into her big brown ones. "Little girl," He said in a dead serious voice.

The little girl's father soon began to panic. _'Oh man this is son not good. First Captain Smoker, and now this guy! Oh God, please spare my darling little Yu!'_ He began to cry anime-style tears. Man what was up with today!?

But then at the flip of a switch Bashura's face became all cat-like ( AN: Sorry folks, I have no idea what it's called but it's supposed to look like this :3 ). "Where did you get that ice cream?"

"Huh?" Yu blinked in confusion. The big scary man liked ice cream too? Sweet!

Let it be forever known that Bashura loved his dairy products.

* * *

><p>On the ship Gin spat out another mouthful of water. "Ugh, nasty." He said eying the pink water before dropping the glass into the sink.<p>

For two days Gin found himself at a loss. He fully expected to die on the sea, just expiring in the lifeboat to use as a coffin and having the sea take his body. He probably was close to death, but the interference of Naruto and his 'crew' stopped that. At first he was ungrateful, he couldn't voice it because he couldn't talk without coughing up blood, but now...well he didn't know. He finally managed to put Krieg down and free his former crew from his influence, but what was left for him? He had no home to go back to, no wife, hell he never expected to live this long; he even expected to keel over by the end of the week.

"Screw it, at least they're better than Krieg." Using the walls as support Gin staggered until he was outside on the deck.

"Ahh, I'm going to miss this." Gin felt the wind blow through his scruffy black hair, and smelled the salty sea. While life on the sea didn't treat him the best since he was a kid, he couldn't deny that he grew to love it. Nothing could really ruin this moment.

"Hey! Lookie what we got 'ere." An obnoxious voice said from the side.

"Well, that is a mighty fine ship. Must have a good lotta cargo in it." A second voice said.

"Come on boys, lets take this baby over! Hurry before the Marines show up."

...and just like that it was shattered by some damn pirates. "Hmph, I needed to stretch my muscles anyways." Gin muttered to himself before retreating into the ship. Hey, he couldn't fight these guys barehanded after all.

Several minutes later the band of pirates bordered the _Bezan Black_ and took in the sights. Hmm, not bad. There were some nicks and replaced materials, but they really didn't worry about the ship. They were after the cargo, _that_ was what they wanted.

"Oi, Mills go check the inside of the ship. We need to see if any thing is worth what we can sell in town. If not...well I'll decide on it later bwahaha!" The Captain of the murderous thieves laughed out loud.

"Got it my Captain." Mills happily saluted his Captain and opened the door that would allow them access to the ship. Only when he opened it, did his eyes widen in shock when he saw Gin glaring menacingly at him. And then he knew no more when he felt the left part of his chest being blown to meaty chunks.

The entire crew looked over to see Mills drop dead with the entire side of his left chest missing. And there stood Gin, he still wore his blood-stained shirt and ratty pants, but strapped diagonally down his chest was a leather baldric that held four flintlock pistols, a leather belt that had two more holstered on his waist on his backside, and two snap-away holsters that held his tonfa's tipped with heavy iron balls. Held in his sweaty hands was a smoking double-barreled shotgun.

"Holy shit! It's Gin "The Demon Man"!" One of the pirates shouted in fright.

"Bullshit, I heard he was dead!" Another chimed out.

"Shut up you scurvy dogs! Who cares if it's a member of the Krieg Pirates? It's just one man against twenty of us. Take your balls out of yer purses and kill the sumbitch!" The Captain screamed at his subordinates.

It was either due to stupidity or the courage coming from their Captain did the crew snap back into shape. Several of them drew their cutlasses', while a couple pulled out their own flintlock pistols.

Despite being in the middle of dying Gin had no desire to be taken out by a bunch of ragtag thieves. Taking a deep breath the former Combat Commander calmed himself before springing into action. Lifting his shotgun he fired off the last round in the chamber, the trail of buckshot hit two men, dropping them down to the deck with a bloody splat. Dropping the shotgun he bolted forward, his hands fast as lightning from years of practice went towards his back and pulled out his first two flintlock pistols.

He fired them at two men, one that swung a cutlass and another aiming his own pistol. The musket round tore through the cutlass-wielding pirate's left eye, and he dropped dead, the other one hit the pistol-wielding one square in the chest causing him to fall backwards. Dropping his two pistols Gin immediately went for the bottom two on his baldric, as soon as he pulled them out he fired off to the sides, killing two more pirates. Pivoting on his right foot Gin quickly dropped his pistols and unholstered his final two pistols and shot two more dead at point blank range. This time he didn't drop them, instead he jumped at the nearest pirate, flipped his pistols so his hands were gripping the barrel's and wood tightly and cracked a pirate's skull wide open with the butt's of his guns.

The sound several pistols going off alerted Gin, and he dropped both pistols this time, grabbed an unfortunate schmuck and used him as a human shield. The man gurgled in pain as multiple musket balls impacted his torso and died painfully. But not before Gin quickly pilfered his flintlock pistol and dagger, which he quickly fired at one of the assholes reloading his pistol and nailing him right in the face, and thew the dagger barely a second afterwards. Gin watched in satisfaction as the bladed weapon hit a charging pirate right in the throat, and he died gurgling on his own blood.

The Captain's mouth fell open in stupefied shock. Barely a minute ago he had twenty-one men, and Gin "The Demon Man" dropped thirteen of them like they were flies!

"Oh God, he killed Charlie!" The man next to him screamed.

"Fuck Charlie! There's only eight of us left!" Another man bellowed as he frantically tried to reload his pistol.

Gin only coughed up a mouthful of blood, once again staining his irreparable shirt. Dammit! His body was giving out from all the sudden movements. He had to end this fast. Dropping the empty gun, and letting the bullet-ridden corpse fall to the side, Gin's hands went to the snap-away holsters and he brought his tonfa's into his shaking hands. Using his immense willpower he managed to stabilize himself and began to twirl them at high speeds.

"I hope you guys have prepared yourselves. Because I'm not going to hold back any longer." Gin coughed out before bolting at the panicking pirates.

Their screams barely lasted a minute.

* * *

><p>"Final-fucking-ley!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. After nearly an hour of being lost the fishman <em>finally <em>found the Marine Base to turn in his bounties. It was a good thing too because Arlong's head was beginning to smell again.

Ignoring the surprised Marines the blond barged through the front doors and went to the secretary's desk. Using his usual blunt tactics he dropped Krieg's tied form on the desk, "All right, I got two bounties that need to be turned in. Where's my cash, also I need to send a message as well."

"I don't do that." The old woman at the desk said dully. Wow, not even a muscle twitch, that was one steel-nerved woman. "I just stamp papers and make appointments. "The bounty office is to the left of me, the gal's name is Emily, please try not to scare her. She's new and does not have my level of tolerance for your kind."

"_My kind?_" Naruto narrowed his eyes. Several Marine recruits and Seaman brought their hands to their respective weapons, violence was absolutely _not_ allowed in the base. Not by them, and especially bounty hunters.

The woman however didn't bat an eyelash. "I mean no offense. Emily has had little experience with bounty hunters, let alone fishmen."

"Yea, yea, whatever." Naruto picked up Krieg and turned towards the left like instructed; much to the relief of the men and women present. It was a straight shot, not even he could screw this up. Hell he found the giant sign of 'Bounty Turn In's' to be more than quite helpful. Opening the door the blond walked into the room with the entire back wall filled with various wanted posters, but other than that it had several chairs and what looked like a ticket booth. Thankfully the entire room was empty, so he headed towards the unoccupied, iron-barred booth near the back wall. Thankfully there was at least a service bell he could use.

"Hey! Come on I got two bounties that are in need of some cashing!" Naruto rung the bell loudly, and accidentally crushing it after the last ring.

"One second!"

Unfortunately it took ten more minutes for Naruto to be greeted by an average-looking brunette with an annoyed expression as she dropped a thick pile of freshly minted wanted posters on her desk. "Sorry for the wait, sir. Now what do you..." She opened her brown eyes for a second and froze when she saw the fishman stand in front of her.

"Oh for the love of Neptune. Yes, I'm a fishman. Get the fuck over it and take this asshole off my hands, he's actually beginning to be a nuisance." He would be a little surprised if he had some bruises on his back from Krieg's kicking, oh well it was a small inconvenience either way.

"Oh, right." Emily opened the gate and beckoned Naruto to show the face of the criminal. As soon as Krieg's semi-conscious ugly mug, she squeaked in surprise. "You captured Don Krieg!"

"No, I'm turning him in for the guy that defeated him."

"For the guy who...what?"

"Ugh, a guy traveling with me was the one who kicked his ass. Unfortunately he cannot come into the the town due to being poisoned by this bastard, so I'm doing it for him." Say what you want about him, but Naruto gave credit where credit was due. Plus he never took credit for something he never did himself, that was wrong on so many levels.

"Okay then?" Emily picked up a green Den Den Mushi with a yellow shell. "Guards, we got ourselves a live one. It's Don Krieg; bounty seventeen million beli."

"Hold it, I also got this." Pulling the burlap sack off his belted waist, Naruto dumped Arlong's severed head onto the floor. Emily squeaked in horror seeing the soulless dead eyes of the sawshark fishman. Well more like dead eye since his right eye was hollowed out, and his face bruised and cut up from the beating he got from his killer. Picking Arlong's head up by his tangled black hair, he said to the woman, "This one is mine, I killed "Saw-Tooth" Arlong and his entire crew."

Emily only squeaked again, damn was this woman part mouse or something? But to her credit she managed to keep he composure and talked into the Den Den Mushi again. "A-And we got a dead one. It's Arlong; bounty twenty million beli."

"Also, mind making a message for me?"

"What?"

"Please have it say, '_Dear Jinbe, I got Arlong and his entire crew for you. Yea I know I was only to get Arlong, but he sicced them on me, but we're square now, don't make me do it again! Signed- Uzumaki Naruto_'. Got that?" Naruto asked the trembling woman.

"C-rystal." Emily nodded in response. Man was this guy intimidating.

To her relief though ten Marines marched into the room. Two were carrying metal brief cases full of money, and they handed them both off to the fishman. "Here you go, thirty-one million big ones." A gorilla-looking Marine congratulated the blond.

"What? Hold it buddy I'm supposed to get thirty-seven million combined out of these two." Naruto protested.

"If you brought Arlong in alive you would have. However, because you brought a dead one the bounty was deducted by thirty percent, thereby making Arlong's total bounty fourteen million beli. I don't make the rules kid, I just hand out the money."

As much as Naruto wanted to protest and beat the crap out of them, he knew they were right. Quite honestly he was not really in it for the bounty, he wanted to get his mission done and over with. But now he had to take the long way home; however long that would take. Eh, he would live, after all it's not like thirty-one million beli was chump change. "All right you win, just take these guys off my hands."

Krieg tried once again to free himself, his body squirming like a worm nearing a hook. But the gorilla man beamed him in the head with his ham-sized fists and shouldered him with eight Marines surrounding him in a circle formation, their flintlock pistols aimed squarely at the unconscious pirate Captain. They were _not_ taking any chances with this guy. The one unfortunate bastard left in the group however had to hold in his breath when he placed Arlong's head back in the burlap sack and tied it shut, man did the dead fishman stink!

Gripping the suitcases in his hands Naruto departed from the room without another word. For once he was happy that things were finally looking up.

When everyone left, Emily sighed out in relief. Man that was scary, who knew that she would ever see the day a man...well fishman would bring in two high priced bounties. Moving over to the wall that held the current wanted posters, she took out a red marker and drew a giant red X across Arlong's grinning visage before tearing it, and Don Krieg's poster-that she also crossed out with the marker off the wall and placed them in the empty captured/deceased pile.

"All right, now I have some space for all these new ones." Sighing she picked out a couple posters and tacked them on the wall. Emily repeated this process until she came across one that made her eyes widen. The poster contained the face of a young man with wild sandy-blond hair and pale gray eyes with constricted pupils, seventy-five percent of his face was wet with blood, and he had an insane grin that showed his perfect white teeth.

**Wanted Dead or Alive**

**"Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu**

**$65,000,000 Beli**

"Oh my God, what a monster!" Emily exclaimed after reading the information that came with the posters that showed what he did to deserve such a bounty. Unfortunately the next one showed a picture of a tanned teenager with untamed black hair underneath a woven straw hat with a red band running across the bridge of it, and a two stitched scar under his left eye grinning joyfully.

**Wanted Dead or Alive**

**"Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy **

**$25,000,000 Beli**

While not as high as Kotetsu's, Luffy's bounty was abnormally high from defeating Buggy "The Clown", and Don Krieg the first time. But at least he didn't massacre an entire island full of civilians and killed four Marine units. However the third, and last page she would be doing for the rest of the day caused her to become white as a sheet. The picture showed the face of a tanned-skinned, spiky blond haired tiger shark fishman with blue eyes. He had whisker-like markings upon his cheeks, three barely visible gills on his neck, and had a vicious shark-like grin that showed his sharp teeth.

**Wanted Dead or Alive**

**"Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto**

**$45,000,000 Beli**

"Oh that is it!" Emily exclaimed loudly. One high bounty that migrated into the East Blue she could handle, two were getting a little ridiculous, but a third one and the fact that he walked out of her office barely ten minutes ago was crossing the line; especially since he murdered an entire ship full of Marines.

Picking up her Den Den Mushi, Emily pressed the button on top of the shell and spoke into it. "Captain Smoker, do you hear me?"

_"What is it Emily? I'm a little busy here." _A rough voice responded through the Den Den Mushi.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I just got the new batch of wanted posters. And I got one that you need to catch him before he leaves."

_"Who's the perp?"_

"It's Uzumaki Naruto, he's a tiger shark fishman. The kid killed "Saw-Tooth" Arlong, is accompanied by a man that defeated "Foul Play Krieg", and is responsible for killing Captain Nezumi and his entire crew-minus the cabin boy. He has a bounty of forty-five million beli."

_"I'll alert the men, thank you Emily."_

"You're welcome Captain Smoker. Oh, before I forget I believe there are two others that you need to know about." She quickly shuffled through some more papers before finding what she needed. "Along with their known accomplices."

_"I'm all ears."_

* * *

><p>While things were in the process of exploding in everyone's faces, Kotetsu found himself watching a cooking contest wrapping up. Man, who knew that there would be such grace in cooking? If he could compare it to anything, it would have been the masterful sword fighting the samurai showed him during his stay on Iron Island. That Sanji dude was pretty good with his hands, and so was that woman he was "battling" against. What was her name again? Oh well, at least it was entertaining.<p>

_'Hmm, now that I think about it we do need a chef. I'm getting pretty dang tired of eating nothing but sandwiches.'_ Kotetsu thought to himself. Sure they were filling, but he missed the taste of cooked meat, hell he would do almost anything for something other than sandwiches.

As soon as he finished that thought, the competition ended. The woman admitted defeat before there could be any judging. Huh, kinda anticlimactic, but pretty good sportsmanship otherwise, good for them.

After applauding them, Kotetsu turned on his heel to escape the crowd, after all he was a wanted man, and he would rather not deal with any Marines at this time. He would like to keep the rest of his day kill free thank you very much! When he parted from the crowd and found himself heading towards the nearest swords shop, he nearly bumped into someone when he opened the door to said shop that had Magara; his inner psychopath screaming at him.

The man he nearly collided with was an average sized, muscular young man with lightly tanned skin and cropped green hair. He wore a simple white shirt, black trousers tucked inside black boots with a green haramaki wrapped around his right hip. The man had three identical gold earrings on his left earlobe, and a black bandanna tied around his left bicep.

It was the three swords tucked on the right side of his green haramaki that really caught his attention. As the last disciple of Mifune, Kotetsu was taught a lot about swordsmanship, and how to ID the various swords throughout the entire world; since Mifune literally beat knowledge into his head. The first sword he instantly spotted was the Wado Ichimonji (Straight Road of the Harmony); a sword with a pure-white hilt and a circular hand-guard. The sheath was painted white and the type of the blade was a straight blade. It was one of the twenty-one Great Grade Swords, just like Kurosawa.**  
><strong>

The second one he spotted was the Yubashiri (Snow Run), a long katana with a black handle. It had a cross-shaped guard and a black lacquered sheath. The blade itself was normal in appearance and had an irregular pattern. Though mostly black, the sheath and the handle both had thin yet elaborate gold designs on them. It was one of the fifty Skillful Grade Swords, a step down from the Great Grade Swords.

However the last sword was what was making Magara scream at him, and Nidai Kitetsu (Second Generation Demon-Splitter) pulse. This one was also a katana with a black sheathe, handle and a golden circular guard with an inch of golden metal near the top of the handle and the middle of it as well. The blade, should it be shown had a small purple flame design on the cutting edge of the blade itself. It was a Grade Sword, the lowest quality of all the swords. However if Kotetsu's suspicions were correct this was the Sandai Kitetsu (Third Generation Demon-Splitter).

On the other end Zoro was looking at a teen that was probably a year younger than himself. If he were to guess the teen stood chin-level with a slim build. He wore a pair of blue jeans, black shoes and a hooded tan jacket that hid his entire upper face in cloth and shadows. Strapped to his belted hip was a Marine-issued sabre on his right hip, and hanging off his left hip was a katana with a black scabbard, the guard was bone white with four crescent moons that covered the dark maroon handle, and a crimson tassel hung from the end of it that held a small ceremonial bell attached to it.

Zoro felt his newest sword, Sandai Kitetsu pulse at his right side. Well it looked like the "problem child" of his swords found something interesting about this man, or more importantly the katana on his hip.

"Please tell me that you're not carrying a cursed sword." Kotetsu dully said.

"Just bought it actually." Zoro replied, resting his hand on the hilt of his cursed blade.

"I don't suppose you would be willing to part with it. Whatever you paid, I'm sure I can double it."

"Nope, sorry I already tested my luck against the curse and won."

"You won?" Kotetsu asked suspiciously. "You don't simply _win_ with these things. You're going to eventually die thanks to it, and it will be a horrible death."

"Hmph, it seem like you know what you're talking about." Zoro eyed the fellow swordsman suspiciously. "What sword do you have?"

"It's the Nidai Kitetsu!" A new, female voice drew Kotetsu's attention. Turning towards the opening of the door, he saw a woman with chin-length, dark blue hair, and dark brown eyes nearly obscured by rectangular red framed glasses. She wore a light red and pink polka dotted shirt with a blue leather coat with a furred collar and edge linings over it, blue navy pants, and a pair of black shoes. Clutched in her white gloved hands was a katana with a green handle and a guard with a four-petaled design. The sheathe was very elaborate, with the first half being green and bumpy designed; while the second half was white and smooth, he even noticed that there are circular designs embedded on the entire sheathe.

"And that's the Shigure (Rain in Late Autumn), not bad considering it's a Grade Sword." Kotetsu commented dryly.

Ignoring the insult the woman approached him and began dotting all over his sword. She didn't touch it out of respect due to the fact that swordsmen never liked to have their weapons touched; herself included among them.

"This is amazing, I honestly cannot believe I got to see two of Kitetsu's swords in my lifetime. How did you get it?"

"I got it on an island...its curse remained true for the inhabitants." Technically it was true, that sword had been on Iron Island for many years and with Kitetsu's three swords being undeniably cursed by causing misery and tragedy to its owners. It was a half-lie, one that he could live with. "And that's why I'm on a quest to collect the blades to prevent it from happening ever again." And that was the truth for him, a vow he made while running from the Marines.

"Well you're not getting this from me, not unless it's off my cold, dead body." Zoro said, his voice turning deadly serious.

"Relax. I'm going to get that sword, but I'm not going to start a fight in the middle of town where people could get hurt to get it." Kotetsu rested his hand upon Nidai Kitetsu's hilt. "That would be the stupid, irresponsible thing that gives our kind a bad name."

"Amen the that." The green-haired man agreed.

The two then parted ways, leaving behind a very baffled swordswoman. She was about to follow Zoro to question him some more, but the Den Den Mushi in her jacket pocket stopped her dead in her tracks. Pulling a white snail with a cream shell out she spoke into the microphone in the shell. "Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi, reporting in Captain Smoker."

_"Tashigi I'm en route to the city square. The men say that it's "Straw Hat" Luffy, a pirate with twenty-five million beli on his head. I want you to join me as soon as you can."  
><em>

"Roger that Captain Smoker."

_"Also, keep an eye out for his crew mate "Pirate Hunter" Roronoa Zora, he has green hair and three swords on him at all times. I also want you to tell me if you see "Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto, a blond tiger shark fishman; he's the one who killed Captain Nezumi, and "Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu, he is in possession of the Nidai Kitetsu, and is wanted for the massacre of Iron Island. Do not engage these last two Tashigi, over and out."_

Unfortunately for Smoker, Tashigi did not hear the last part. At that moment her entire body was frozen, barely two minutes ago she was admiring their swords. She even helped Zoro pick out his two newest ones. But now that she found out they were horrid pirates something in her just _snapped_, Tashigi would be damned if those two got away with those swords!

* * *

><p>"The fuck?" Naruto raised an eyebrow when things started to get...weird. Okay, things were already weird for him, but this was something different.<p>

The clear blue sky suddenly filled with black clouds and it began to rain, lightning struck several buildings, and green fog came up to his knees. All right the first two weren't all that unnatural since they were near the Grand Line, and that place was notorious from going sunny for a day to rainy for a straight week; he had to thank Jinbe for showing him how messed up the sea could be when he took him out on his missions. But the _green fog_ was a little much, hell it was completely unnatural in his opinion.

Suddenly he heard someone screaming and turned his head just in time to see a screaming Luffy and Sanji carrying what looked like a Blue-Finned Elephant Tuna running past him. After following the route Naruto saw a muscular white-haired man, smoking two cigars at the same time in his mouth. He wore a large thick white and blue specialist Marine jacket that he kept open with greenish fur lining the neck, wrists and hem. He had many cigars strapped to the jacket and had the kanji symbol for "Justice" written on the back of it like Kotetsu's bloodied Marine coat. Strapped to his back was a Jutte. He also wore brown leather gloves, blue jeans with a brown belt and large military issue brown leather boots.

His right arm was held in a vice grip by a tall man clad in a long green cloak that covered his entire body-minus what looked to be a long-sleeved purple shirt if his exposed arm was any indication. A flash of lightning briefly revealed his sinister-looking face that had a permanent grin with some stubble on his chin, no eyebrows, powerful black eyes and a red tribal tattoo's on the left side of his face.

Naruto's heart stopped in his chest when he saw the sinister-looking man's face. How could he forget? That man was Dragon "The Revolutionary", a man who took the top spot for "The Most Wanted Man in the World". Even standing nearly fifty feet away he could feel the immense power radiating from him. It was absolutely _horrifying_, not even Hody Jones could have produced that much power even if he tried.

Dragon turned towards him, and another flash of lightning revealed his face. He was still giving him that sinister grin that sent shivers up his spine like when he was a kid. "Ah, "Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto. I'm surprised to see you in the flesh so soon." He greeted the blond in an authoritative voice.

"Sword of the what?" Naruto barely managed to say before narrowing his eyes at the two. "What the hell is going on here!? Answer me Dragon!"

"There will be plenty of time for that." Dragon threw the Marine away from the both of them like he was nothing more than a piece of trash. He didn't even flinch when the man dissipated in a huge cloud of smoke when he his the first building, and began to reform himself. God dammit another Logia-user, if Naruto hated anything more than humans, it was humans with that type of Devil Fruit!...minus Ace, he respected the guy for being the only one to beat him in a fight dammit! "But for now, I suggest you leave this place. It's about to get a little...chaotic."

Another flash of lightning struck, this time it smashed right in front of the blond, obscuring his vision. By the time he could see again, Dragon was gone, and the Marine was nearly solid again.

Now normally Naruto _never_ ran from a fight, he had a reputation on Fishman Island after all for never backing down. But this was far beyond his level, better to do a tactical retreat and fight another day. And that's what he did, he bolted far away from where the Marine was, past several fleeing people and pirates alike. It wasn't until he arrived at the _Bezan Black_ that was already halfway from the docks. That was good, he knew that the people he was traveling with were smart enough to get the fuck out when things got too hot.

Naruto jumped with his powerful leg muscles and dived into the water with his suitcases clutched in his hands. It was an easy swim for him being a fishman, the salt water never stung his eyes, and the feeling of wet clothing never bothered him in the slightest. When he neared the hull of the _Bezan Black_, he noticed a strange gray substance coating it...it felt...off to him. It felt like the sea, and yet not like the sea. Maybe Kotetsu could explain that to him when he surfaced, after all they did make a clean escape.

Unfortunately for him he was greeted to the sight of twenty-one corpses littering the deck. Gin sitting on a Marine-issued crate, surrounded two dozen other crates and barrels that clearly weren't there before coughing up a storm and that was what he peered as normal. What wasn't normal however was seeing Bashura restraining two women in ropes. Wait a damn second, did one of them have a Marine jacket on?...shit this cannot be good.

"All right," Naruto let out a sigh as he set the brief cases on the deck, and took notice that Kotetsu was steering the ship out of the harbor with wads of tissues stuffed up his nose. "I don't really want to ask, but why do we have two bound women on the ship?" Hey, it may sound weird to ask that, but there was honestly no way to ask the right way for this sort of thing.

"...this will be a little hard to explain Cap'n." Bashura said.

* * *

><p>(With Kotetsu, fifteen minutes earlier)<p>

"Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu!" An enraged female voice alerted the sandy-haired teen tot he point where he unsheathed both his swords to block Tashigi's attack.

Tashigi disengaged and began her full on attack to try and capture, or kill the "Butcher of Iron Island". Like many Marines she did not take the news of one of their most promising Marines in many years killing his comrades and butchering civilians in a single day very well. Admittedly she knew little about the man she was trying to capture; except he was a well talented swordsman if his successful blocking techniques were any indication. That he was the one who killed Morgan "Moonscar", ate the Flash-Flash Fruit, and was the eldest son of...

Before Tashigi could complete her thought Kotetsu suddenly went on the offensive. He back flipped back and darted forward, he swung the flat end of his cutlass and struck her right in her sword arm. That hurt, but it didn't hurt enough for her to drop her sword. Gritting her teeth the glasses-wearing woman yelled out and swung Shigure's sharp blade at his right side. Kotetsu saw that attack coming a mile away, he simply dropped the Nidai Kitetsu down a little bit and blocked the blade.

"Mirage Sword Style: Crawling Blue Serpent!" Despite having her glasses firmly placed on her face, Tashigi's eyes could not follow her opponents left arm, or more accurately his sabre. At first she thought her prescription needed to be upgraded when she was the blade take on the form of a blue serpent. She moved her katana down to the side to block the strike to her hip, but the blade _curved_ like a snake and struck her hip with the flat end of the sabre.

The Ensign gritted her teeth to bite off the pain from her bruising side and pivoted on her right heel in retaliation. Gripping Shigure's hilt with both hands she swung with all her might to try and disarm him of his sabre to even the playing field, but to her horror the sabre _bent _away away from her attack just like a snake would do in the wild. It was after she missed her opponent completely she knew that she left herself completely open and tried to move to defend herself.

It took five seconds for her to do that.

It was five seconds too long.

"Mirage Sword Style: Trial of Three Paths!" Once again pouring the power of his devil fruit into his arms he began to attack Tashigi with a barrage of brutal, but non-lethal force. The flat ends of his sabre and katana struck Tashigi all along her athletic body with bruising force. From her perspective her opponent seemed to have six arms instead of two and it made it real hard for her to see which one was real and which one wasn't. She tried to block, futilely-I might add, and found herself soon laid prone on the cool cobble stones of the street with her body wracked in pain.

"And stay down!" Kotetsu hollered at the downed swordswoman. He did not enjoy fighting a defeated opponent anymore than killing them, there was room for potential with her, but as it stood at this point in time she was no match for him. Hell, he did not even think she was a match for that green-haired guy either.

"Shut up you filthy criminal!" Tashigi growled hotly as she slowly stood back up on her own two feet, her hands gripped Shigure's hilt tightly to ready herself to attack once again. "I won't allow you to escape after what you have done!"

Falling into a tunnel vision-like state Tashigi once again charged as fast as her body would allow. But unfortunately-or fortunately for her, she clumsily tripped on a single cobblestone that was a tiny bit out of alignment with the rest causing her to stumble. Of course she tried to regain her balance, but just ended up tripping over _another _cobblestone, and left Kotetsu quite baffled on her rotten luck. And that luck continued to deteriorate when she tripped over _another_ cobblestone and fell past his loose defensive stance and smacked him square on the nose with the bottom of Shigure's hilt.

The Chief Petty Officer heard the cartilage in his nose break and blood splattered on his face. Not taking the chance of him recovering Tashigi moved one of her legs behind his, and used her weight to trip him so he fell straight on his back with her landing right on top of him. With his arms wide out and his swords scattered out of reach, she placed Shigure's sharp edge at his throat and held it there.

Panting in exhaustion and pain, Tashigi couldn't help but grin in victory. She had done it, she captured a murderous traitor to the Marines. "You have the right to remain silent "Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu, there is no way out of this for you."

A psychotic smile appeared on Kotetsu's face, and in one swift move he struck Tashigi in the ears with both his clenched fists. A loud ringing sound rang in the young woman's ears as she cried out in pain, then a violent headbutt caused her to reel back when she felt her own nose break, and the left lens of her glasses crack. A double-palm strike to her chest sent her flying off Kotetsu's body, and roughly impacting the hard, unforgiving cobblestone street.

When Tashigi regained her senses, she looked on in heart stopping fright when Kotetsu gathered his swords and stood up on his two feet. The swordsman gave her a wide, insane smile. His eyes wide, pupils constricted, and showing no hint of sanity. The fresh blood on his face; a mixture of hers and his own made him look like some sort of monster. _"Yea baby I'm free again! Oh man being trapped in that little pussy's mind was fucking pissing me off!"_

Magara was back again, all thanks to a still healing broken nose being re-broken once again. The man man began snickering with joy, his mad thoughts busting with violent images of Marines being cut to bloody pieces. And the woman with the fancy sword was the first in the long list of targets. _"Thank you for freeing me bitch."_ Unfortunately that was him being nice, go figure. _"But now I'm going to cut you fucking throat out!"_

Tapping into the powers of his Devil Fruit, Magara practically flew at the shaking woman, Nidai Kitetsu's ebony black blade ready to cut her throat wide open.

Clang!

The black blade connected with the small purple flame designs on a steel blade. Finally for the first time in many, many years two of Kitetsu's swords finally met each other in battle. _"Sandai, how have you been buddy?"_ Magara asked the katana itself.

"He was good until you showed up." Zoro, now wearing his black bandanna on his head, Wado Ichimonji's hilt clutched in-between his teeth, Yubashiri clutched in his left hand, and Sandai Kitetsu clutched in his right one. Zoro narrowed his thin green eyebrows as he regarded the psychopath. "You're not that kid from the sword shop."

_"No shit moss-head, I'm someone much better yo-"_ Magara didn't get a chance to finish his sentence, instead of saying more insults he was kicked right in the belly and sent flying down the street.

"Nobody calls me that! Not that shitty cook, and certainly not you!" Zoro bellowed at him. Completely unaware of Tashigi, the green-haired swordsman bolted after the psychopath.

_'Son of a bitch that fucking hurt!'_ Magara thought as he pried himself from the wall of a shop. Seriously, what kind of person could kick someone three miles away down a street?! That pissed him off, and yet...a vicious smile soon came upon his face. It excited him, because once he killed that man it would show he was worth of wielding two of Kitetsu's cursed swords.

_"Blood Sword Style: Crimson Flow!" _Once again tapping into his Devil Fruit powers Magara jumped to the left and hit the wall of the neatest building with his left foot. Using the momentum, he rebounded off the building's wall and sped towards the building across the street. Hitting the wall again, he ricocheted off towards then ext building; but this time he left a deep footprint in the wall. And he did the same thing over, and over again, leaving more damage on each building's walls. That was the nature of this technique, he built up destructive speed by ricocheting off of hard services until he hit his target, and with that much speed nothing would survive when his sword struck flesh.

Zoro however the the exception. He jumped to meet him in midair and collided with Magara; sword to sword. The shock wave from the both of them shattered windows, peeled paint, and created a crater that they landed below and began to exchange vicious sword blows. Sparks rang from their blades when they collided, loud clangs echoed throughout the empty street, and neither fighter was letting up any time soon.

Magara dropped down onto his knuckles, unwilling to let go of his swords, and mule kicked Zoro right in the chest. As Zoro skidded back, his boots throwing up the cobblestones and leaving deep skid marks. Magara held the blades of both swords behind him and charged. _"Blood Sword Style: Rain_ _Crimson_!"

Zoro however crossed his two swords across his chest and placed the blade in his mouth horizontally behind them. "Demon Slash!"

Zoro then bolted at Magara and the both of them clashed, somehow the both of them blocked what would have been fatal attacks, but the area around them became a war zone. Windows once again shattered, paint peeled, but some unfortunate buildings lost entire walls from their attacks.

Stuck in a deadlock, Zoro kneed the insane swordsman right in the stomach to disengage them for a brief second. And using that second to his full advantage, he spun with his swords to create a dragon-like tornado that both slashed and blew away his opponents. The force of the attack easily lifted Magara straight off the ground, and found himself littered with light cuts upon his exposed flesh before crashing through the shop window of another building.

That didn't keep him down for long though. Magara stubbornly walked through the shattered window, glaring daggers at Zoro. _"__What the fucking fuck was that!?"_

"Three Sword Style: Dragon Twister." Zoro replied.

_"Hehe HAHAHA! I love it, put some more force into it and you could cut some idiotic cunt monkeys into ribbons." _His smile became especially malicious when he thought of the ways he could utilize it. _"Thank you moss-head, I'll send you off to hell without any pain. Blood Sword Style: E-Gak!" _Before Magara could do anything remotely violent, he was snatched up by the neck by a muscular, black-furred arm.

Zoro dropped his guard when he saw his psychotic opponent snatched up by a humanoid black panther wearing a rough black sleeveless vest, red pants with a brown leather belt and a new satchel attached to it, and a top hat resting upon his head. What the hell?

"I apologize for my crew mate's behavior, usually he is much more nicer than this." Bashura apologized.

The fuck! That thing could talk? And was the crew mate to that psycho? This was really grating on Zoro's sanity, and he was traveling with a rubber idiot that he called his Captain, an orange-haired thief/navigator, a long-nosed liar/sniper, and an asshole chef.

_"God dammit Bashura! Let me go you mother-"_ Bashura's massive bicep pressed down on his windpipe and chocked him into unconsciousness; curiously his swords were still clutched in his hands. Now that was impressive.

"Like I said, I apologize for his behavior and actions. Please have a good day, and escape from this accursed town." With his peace said, Bashura ran away with his crew mate clutched underneath his arm.

"Huh, well that was weird...hold on it feels like I'm forgetting something."

* * *

><p>Three minutes later Bashura and a back to normal Kotetsu were preparing to set sail and get the hell out of Loguetown. At first they found it odd, and a little disturbing that they had twenty-one corpses on their deck and an assload of crates and barrels. But they got the short story from Gin, who in the simplest of terms, killed the idiots who tried to rob them, stole their cargo, and just for the hell of it robbed a pair of Marines that passed by their ship at gunpoint for a special crate they were carrying. He didn't kill them, just knocked them out cold because it was too troublesome to kill them.<p>

Before the trio could head out, a familiar scream alerted Kotetsu, and low and behold Tashigi was running at them with single-minded intent of taking Nidai Kitetsu from him. The Chief Petty Officer ran up on the gangplank, Shigure gripped in both hands, her battered form running on adrenaline and pure willpower. She sure had guts, and was stubborn as a mule, but unfortunately that was not enough.

Because all Kotetsu had to do was move out of the way, leave one leg out for her to trip on, and gravity happened. Tashigi fell right on the blood splattered deck, and Bashura sat on her.

"Well that was anti-climatic." Gin deadpanned, honestly weren't the Marines supposed to be made out of tougher stuff? Or was it because they were just in the East Blue? Eh, honestly he didn't give a flying damn.

"I've already had enough of her for one fight. Bashura, please keep her subdued with...yourself. I'll go get some rope." Kotetsu rubbed his throbbing temples with a sigh. Man this day could not get any worse.

"Ahhh! What are you doing on _my ship_!"

* * *

><p>(Present Time)<p>

"_Her ship_?" Naruto's voice took on a tone of irritation.

"Apparently during the confusion and mass chaos the town suffered from that green mist, and lightning storm." Bashura said while eying the two women, and pointing at the one with fiery pink hair and large pink eyes. She was dressed in a dark red flamenco dress with white frills, a green sash she used as a belt with a large red rose on her hip, and hot pink high-heeled shoes. She was also wearing a a gold headband and a silver-emerald necklace that matched her diamond-shaped emerald earrings. "That one though our ship was hers, and entered through a secret hatch that her ship has."

"We have a secret hatch on the ship?" Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Fuck if I know." Gin shrugged his shoulders. "I know squat about this ship, and I think it goes double for you guys."

The tiger shark fishman only shrugged his shoulders in response, he wasn't wrong in that regard. They all really had this ship for barely two weeks and never really explored it, and the only things they; as men found were their own rooms, bathrooms, and the kitchen.

"What should we do with them Cap'n?" Bashura asked.

"Send the Marine woman back, just put her in a lifeboat and lets hope we never see her again. The other..." He looked at the pink-haired woman, and was once again torn about what to do with her. No one would miss her if she just simply disappeared, but then again Otohime's teachings just kept fucking _nagging_ at him. Ugh, fine conscience you win again you bastard! "No harm will come to her, no shackles, ropes, or anything to restrain her. However," He pointed a finger at her. "You're going to be watched. Deal?"

"Fair enough, now you please untie me? This rope is going to leave a mark on my dress." The woman asked, surprisingly her voice was calm and very polite for a woman in her situation.

"I'll handle it miss." Bashura said with the usual grin on his face.

"Please, call me Carmen."(3)

"Carmen? Oh that'z right, I saw you in that cooking contezt. Thoze were some zanzy movez." Kotetsu's funny sounding voice, thanks to his broken nose finally spoke up.

"Thank you my dear swordsman." Carmen gave curtsey to the sandy-haired teen once she was untied. "And you, my big guy, do you have a Den Den Mushi on this ship? I must tell my assistants where I am, or I fear that they will tear apart the island to search for me."

Bashura scratched the back of his head, the lady sure was nice, it was a nice change of pace. "Um, maybe?"

When the twosome left the present company, Kotetsu locked the wheel in place and walked towards Tashigi. The woman glared up at him from her position, and despite her situation she seemed very defiant of them all. "So, these are the people you associate with. I'm not surprised "Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu."

"I'm just traveling with them until something better presents itself." Kotetsu frowned at her. Bending down he pulled Shigure from the deck and unsheathed it. "Shigure is a fine blade, I see you have taken great care of him as well."

"Get your filthy hands off him you disgusting pirate!"

"And why should I?" Kotetsu raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head.

"Why?" Tashigi demanded. "It's because of your kind. Using these precious swords for such evil purposes, they deserve to be in the hands of those who uphold the law!"

Suddenly Kotetsu's personality shifted. Gone was his gentle appraising nature, instead it was replaced by someone cold and calculating. "You believe me evil, don't you?"

"By traveling with the likes of Gin "The Demon Man", and "Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto, and what I saw when we fought, I know _exactly_ what kind of man you are." The swordswoman nearly snarled at him. "You used your swords like tools and murder innocents, warping their natures to your own selfish needs-" Tashigi's head jerked to the side, her right cheek stinging from the unexpected backhand Kotetsu gave her.

Sheathing Shigure, Kotetsu grabbed Tashigi roughly by the hair, knelt down and faced her eye-to-eye. "Now you listen to me _Marine_. Swords are more than simple tools to me, they are something that are supposed to be treated with respect. And no sword truly belongs to anyone regardless of who they are or what side they fight for. A sword will obey whomever holds it and does not recognize good, evil or anything." He then looked at Nidai Kitetsu, the problem child that was entrusted to him. "Nidai is no exception, sure he is a pain in my ass, but he wants to be reunited with his three brothers just as much as he wants to kill people."

"That's a lie, swords deserve to belong to the right and just." Tashigi tried to block out his words, his filthy, lying words.(4)

"Then you do not deserve Shigure." Kotetsu looked up to see Naruto carrying a lifeboat towards the edge of their ship. Seriously? They could have just put her in one one one of the wenches, wait did they have any of those? Man they needed to explore the ship some more all right. Seeing him throw it overboard, the sandy-haired swordsman nodded before tucking Shigure into his belt.

"No! Don't you dare take Shigure!" Tashigi struggled against her restraints, unfortunately for her it was all in vain. For when Naruto picked her up by her bindings it was all over.

"I won't use Shigure, he just doesn't suit me. But you will not be getting him back anytime soon."

Naruto then threw her overboard. There wasn't a splash, but a grunt of a body hitting wood.

"Would you have gone after her if you missed?" Kotetsu raised an eyebrow in question.

"Maybe." Naruto shrugged his broad shoulders. "Now can you tell me what the hell that gray shit on the bottom of our ship is?"

Kotetsu palmed his forehead at his Captain's lack of thought. Seriously, how did he not know this stuff?

* * *

><p>(One Week Later)<p>

The crew of the _Bezan Black_ finally made it to the Grand Line. It was a piece of cake really, thanks to the Sea Stone coating the bottom of their ship. Apparently Kuro was not too fond of Sea Kings and killed off an entire Marine ship just to keep them away. Well, that wasn't exactly true if what Kotetsu told Naruto. Sea Stone not only could incapacitate Devil Fruit-users, but mask them from Sea Kings and other sea-dwellers.

That was good enough for them, even though Naruto knew that he could kick any Sea King ass that threatened them when they traveled through the Calm Belt...and by traveled they meant Naruto pushing the entire ship through the Calm Belt. To him it was a personal challenge, and if he was honest with himself it would give him an excuse to kick some Sea King ass.

Hey, at least it was better than going up Reverse Mountain. Only a crew of _idiots_ would do that.

Their new crew mate "Five-Alarm" Carmen, was adjusting surprisingly well to their band of misfits. Thanks to her they managed to find the Den Den Mushi room so she could get in contact with her assistants, both by the sound of it, were extraordinarily relieved to find her alive and well. Apparently the three of them had an agreed upon location in the Grand Line should they have gotten separated, and she would be staying with them for now until they reached a place called Cook Island; wherever the fuck that was.

Honestly Naruto dd not care when she met up with her assistants. She was odder than the other three on board, she too...flamboyant, twirling and dancing as she cooked her dishes. Not that he was complaining of course! Carmen's dishes were freaking delicious! Much better than sandwiches and spam, hell even Gin was beginning to look better from whatever Bashura and Carmen have been giving him due to his whole poison issue.

But despite all of this Naruto found himself out on the ship late at night, his arms set on the railings of the ship and most recently a lit cigar hanging from his lips. Apparently the crate Gin stole from the Marines was full of cigars, they weren't fancy or tasted good, but they sure did calm his nerves.

"I'm nearly a month late," He muttered to himself on this night as the smoke drifted from his mouth. "I wonder how Shira-chan is doing without me?"

* * *

><p>(Fishman Island at that very moment)<p>

"Shirahoshi please calm down!" Manboshi and Ryuboshi pleaded their little sister, but to no avail. She had not stopped crying since nearly three weeks ago when their adoptive younger brother failed to return home.

That was not like their little brother at all, yes he had recently turned to violence towards them. That they could accept, but Naruto breaking a promise, that was something they could never believe. Naruto was notorious for keeping his promises, and had not broken one yet until he left the kingdom on Jinbe's orders. What could have happened to him they often wondered. He was strong enough to defeat them single-handedly, and powerful enough to punch out sea creatures. What could have delayed him so long to break such a promise to their darling little sister?

King Neptune had all ready pulled his daughter into a hug to try and calm her, but just like his sons he did not succeed in comforting her. Like so many things in his life, he once again failed to even calm his own daughter, something that only Naruto could do nowadays. He didn't know if it was the power of the Sea King in him, or something else he and Shirahoshi shared in their time together.

"Manboshi, please fetch Madam Shyarly! She will know what is taking Naruto so long!" Neptune ordered his youngest son.

"Right away!" Moving as fast as his bubble ring would allow him, Manboshi set a new record on Fishman Island that day by fetching the owner of the Mermaid Cafe.

Shyarly was briefly informed of the situation, but found it much worse than she imagined. "That poor girl." She whispered to herself before she hardened herself when the prediction she witnessed all those years ago came to her mind. "Everyone out, I must do this alone with the Princess!"

The three mermen did not need to be told twice what to do. If anyone could possibly help Shirahoshi it would have been Madam Shyarly. After the doors to the Hard-Shell Tower closed did Shyarly float up to the sniffling mermaid. "You remind a lot of Naruto when you was younger." The mako shark mermaid said with a soft smile.

"Yo-you know my onii-chan?" Shirahoshi said through sniffles.

"He did odd jobs for me when he was a little boy." Shyarly responded with a cheerful smile. "Now what seems to be the problem? Is it because he has not returned from his journey?"

The pink-haired mermaid only nodded, suddenly feeling embarrassed by the older women.

"Calm yourself child, and behold!" Shyarly pulled her crystal ball from her travel pouch and held it up for her to see. "Allow me to show you Naruto's whereabouts, and prove to you that he is still of this world!" Placing the crystal ball upon her lap, the dark-haired woman hummed loudly, her purple nail polished fingers tapping upon the smooth ball until an image appeared.

Both Shirahoshi and Shyarly looked into the crystal ball. The image was fuzzy, not that it was any surprise since the mako shark mermaid was best known for predicting the future, and not searching for someone in the present(5). Minutes ticked by until the image finally cleared up to reveal Naruto flicking something from his fingers into the ocean before turning around.

Both mermaids were greeted by his tired vision, blood staining the upper right half of his white Criminal design pants, and white gauze wrapped around his abs and right bicep. Other than that though he seemed to be in good health, which caused Shirahoshi to sigh in relief.

"Hmm this is odd." Shyarly said.

"What is odd?"

"Look."

Shirahoshi gazed into the crystal ball, and was amazed to see Naruto greeting an eight foot tall, savage-looking human male wearing a top hat. That brought a great smile to her face seeing her adoptive brother getting along with humans, just like their mother wanted them to.

But for Shyarly she saw that Naruto wasn't being too friendly towards the man, in fact it looked like he was tolerating him. There was no outright hate, but it wasn't acceptance either. Just like before, many years ago Shyarly remembered seeing his body standing in front of flames with many others. She wasn't sure what that meant, but it was an omen if she had ever saw one.

Would he give into his hate, or let it go? That was the billion beli question.

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Hello everyone, long time no see eh? Well I apologize for that...well not so much since I have been too busy with work, seriously twelve plus hours a day, four to five, sometimes six days a week. I have also been playing Saints Row IV, and that I do not apologize for! After all it's Saints Row bitches!<p>

Ahem, I'm also going to apologize if the ending seems lack luster or sloppy. My co-author, Agurra of the Darkness has been AFK and has not been able to properly help out if seeing plot holes and such. So there will be changes later on, or maybe not. Really I don't care at this point, I'm just damn tired.

Now onto the chapter

1. If you know who this guy is then congratulations, and no I do not own him. It was just for a rib nudging.

2. Those are real plants, they might or might not help with poisoning, but I would not recommend poisoning yourself to try it. But those do help purge your body of impurities.

3. For those who guess then you're right. Carmen is going to be their Chef, after all she is almost as good as Sanji, and breaks up the sausage fest that had been happening. She will be the last character I add for a while, since for the past three chapters I added them like crazy. Also, if she seems too at ease being with strangers, let me remind you that she was only seen in one episode thirteen years ago. I don't remember her all that much, but she will be calmish in this story, if a little eccentric if her profile is right of course. So please don't bitch about it.

4. I am not bashing Tashigi. She at that time firmly thought that swords were supposed to be in the hands of those she viewed as good. So maybe getting Shigure taken away will teach her something, plus that asskicking as well.

5. All right I'm going to level with you. I know Shyarly cannot do that, she can only see the future. But Shirahoshi is going to play an important part in this story and she needed to see her big; favorite brother. I man come on gone for nearly a month without a word? That ain't the Naruto she knows. So I'm using something from Dungeons and Dragons to have Shyarly look upon our favorite tiger shark fishman form time to time.

Now for the Kotetsu and Zoro fight scene, credit goes to Raidentensho for coming up with it. If not for him this chapter would be much shorter, and lets face it would you rather see that or a one-sided fight between Zoro and Tashigi? I didn't think so. Now I'm not going to take up any more ideas...not unless they are damn good and I have nothing else planned for that chapter. Should I find it interesting I will contact you, and give you the credit you rightfully deserve. So that mean no anonymous accounts, seriously how am I to answer questions or contact you if you do not have an actual account?

That is all for now, later folks!


	10. This is not what I expected

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. If I did I would have ALL THE GOLD! ALL OF IT I TELLS YOU!

"Talk" Talking

'_Think_' Thinking

* * *

><p>"Captain, oh Captain~" Carmen sang as she roamed on the deck of the ship searching for Naruto.<p>

The tiger shark fishman himself was hiding from the pink-haired woman. Why you ask? Because the woman would not leave him alone! For the last week and a half she kept asking him things. "Where is the next island?", "How on earth are you okay with wearing the same outfit?", "What do you mean there are no other dresses on this ship!?". It was driving him crazy, who on earth knew that having a woman on the ship would be such a pain in his ass?

"You know, she is just going to keep searching for you." Kotetsu dully said to his fellow blond.

"That is why I'm hiding in the crows nest with you." Naruto harshly whispered.

"I'm not hiding, I'm keeping watch. The Grand Line is much different from the East Blue you know."

"Tell me about it. I had to punch out twenty Sea Kings before I got to the East Blue."

"Again, I am not surprised." Kotetsu said before feigning surprise and pointing to the east. "What is that!" When Naruto stood up to see, the swordsman pushed him out of the crows nest. "Sorry Uzumaki, but you distracting me will put all our lives in jeopardy!"

Naruto hit the deck with a loud thump. Nothing was broken, for him, or the ship, except his pride that was severely bruised. "I will remember this you son of a-oh hey Carmen."

"Good afternoon Captain." The Pink-haired woman greeted him. "I need to ask you something."

"No, we do not have any other dresses on this ship."

"That is not what I'm asking." The chef rolled her eyes before handing him a small notebook. "We are in need of supplies."

Grunting as he sat up, Naruto looked over the list with irritation. The list was unfortunately for him, extensive; ranging from various foodstuffs to toiletries, cleaning supplies, and ammunition? Oh he was really beginning to regret this. "We don't need all this stuff. The last I checked we were fine on all that stuff." The blond fishman stubbornly tried to deny the need to go shopping.

"Actually Cap'n, Carmen is right." Bashura's polite voice caused him to turn towards the Zoan-user. "With Gin's treatment we are nearly out of toilet paper, and he is concerned about us not having enough black powder for our cannons let alone our ammunition for them. Plus I'm gonna need a Log Pose."

"Plus, I know we need some clothing or the clothes we're in will stink horribly with no way to wash them out!" Kotetsu hollered from above.

Gin would have voiced another thing or two, but unfortunately for him he was busy screaming from his afternoon Mogwort and Crabapple treatment. Seriously, Naruto pitied the poor guy. He spent more time on the toilet in a day than any of them combined in a single week.

"All right, you win." Naruto sighed in defeat. As much as he wanted to deny it, they were right, a restock was in order. "Bashura do you have any idea where the next island is?"

"I believe so," The former navigator of the Black Cat Pirates pulled out a map from his satchel. After unfolding it he laid it out on the deck and pointed to their location. "We are here, and the nearest island is..." He trailed his finger until it landed on a small island. "Here, yes. It will take one day for us to get there if my estimation is right."

"An estimation? I don't like the sound of that." Carmen said with a twinge of concern.

"Well that is why we need a Log Pose. It will help me get a sense of how long it will it takes to lock onto the magnetic waves that varies from island to island." Bashura folded his map back up and placed it back in his satchel. "It will help us in the long run."

"Wait a second. Are you telling me that we have been just-"

"Yep! Lucky that we have not gotten lost."

"Fuck my life." Naruto palmed his face. "Seriously, fuck my life."

"Quit your bitching Captain! At least we aren't dead!" Kotetsu hollered down at them.

"I'm not your Captain dammit!"

* * *

><p>(Three days later)<p>

It took three days for them to reach their destination. Not one, but _three_, and it was no easy picnic trying to find the place either. Their regular compass kept screwing up, spinning wildly due to the magnetic waves of the Grand Line. Bashura was right, they needed a Log Pose because if it cause them this much trouble to fine what should have been a simple island, they who knew what would happen to them further down the line?

Once they docked and set anchor, the motley crew departed from their ship.

"All right, Carmen do you have the list?" Naruto asked the chef.

The pink-haired woman produced the paper she was carrying and handed it to the fishman. "I'm assuming that you're going to split us up?"

"Damn right, it'll get us done faster than going in a group." Naruto tore the list into several pieces. Taking the first one he handed it to Bashura. "Bashura, I'm leaving you in charge of your Log Pose and any other navigational equipment that we need. And also anything medical-wise."

"You can count on me Cap'n." The navigator grinned cheerfully.

"Gin, and Kotetsu. I need you guys to handle the black powder, ammunition, and toiletries." Naruto handed his piece of paper to Gin, who only nodded weakly. The blond saw Kotetsu look over at the former member of the Krieg Pirates, a flash of concern came across his face before nodding as well.

Handing the third to last piece of paper to Carmen Naruto spoke one last time. "And Carmen, I leave the food to you."

"I will handle it Captain." She said with a grin on her face. "But you do not expect us to pay for all this stuff out of our pockets do you?"

"...What?"

"She's right," Bashura spoke up. "Kuro didn't have much money left on the ship. And I hate to be the downer, but we may have to use your reward money."

"Why can't you use the seventeen million beli I gave Gin?" Naruto asked.

"Because I gave it back to you." Gin coughed for the fiftieth time that day. "I told you already, I have no need for money, not with-"

"Your soon to be demise." Naruto rolled his eyes. For a rough-looking guy, Gin could be quite the drama queen. "Fine, fine," Reaching into his white pouch behind his back, the blond pulled out a neat wad of bills. Fingering through the stacks he handed them off in somewhat equal portions. "That much should cover whatever you need to buy and then some. Keep whatever is left over, seriously. And when you're done head straight back to the ship, I don't need us staying here any longer than we should." With his peace said, Naruto departed in order to do his own thing.

Once he left Kotetsu looked at the various thousand beli bills in his hand. "He gave us far too much."

"I wouldn't complain. That means we can get the best of what we need." Gin said, a smile starting to form on his tired face.

"I'm just glad those suitcases were waterproof." Carmen idly commented before departing.(1)

* * *

><p>(With Naruto)<p>

Unknown to the hitchhikers, or as Naruto liked to call them, he went to the one place they never thought he would go to. It was a post office. Yes, a post office. Not a bar, a brothel, or a weapon's shop, but one of the most boring places in the entire world.

But to him, it was going to be a lifeline. Over a month had passed since he left Fishman Island, that was far longer than he expected. Not only was Shirahoshi crying her eyes out about now, but Hody was more than likely furious.

Thinking of Hody, Naruto's mind stalled while he held the pen and paper. What could he say to his Captain? He was pretty sure writing out, "I'm sorry that I cannot come home right now, after killing Arlong; your long time idol, I learned that he destroyed my only means of getting home. And oh yea, I'm traveling with humans." Yea, that would not even go remotely well.

"Screw it for now. I'll just tell him in person." Naruto muttered to himself. He fully knew that would not even remotely go over well at all, but he rather take his lumps like a man.

So instead of writing to his Captain, the blond wrote to Shirahoshi. The letter contained exactly what he had done-censored of course, he didn't have the heart to tell her he killed Arlong and his crew, let alone a bunch of Marines, and a thought to be dead pirate Captain. He also wrote why he was late, again censored, but telling her that because of Arlong's actions his Eternal Log Pose became broken, and that was why he was late. Naruto also wrote, for whatever reason, that he was traveling with humans, he listed off their names and everything retaining on how they joined up with him-which was again censored.

After double checking for any mistakes, and anything that detailed explicit violence, Naruto nodded in satisfaction before folding it into an envelope, and stood to wait in line.

Naruto was honestly surprised to see that the people of this island didn't mind his presence. At first they stared at him, but that lasted barely ten seconds before going about their business. It left him a little...disappointed? Was that what he felt? As the line moved up he couldn't help but grimace at the nagging feeling his head. Where were the stares of hatred? The snarls of disgust? The rock throwing?

When the line moved up again Naruto felt himself pinching the bridge of his nose. _'What the hell is wrong wit__h me?'_ He thought to himself, _'Am I so desperate for them to hate me? People who I have never met, nor should I give a shit about.'_ Again his thoughts went back to Otohime's lessons. Her speeches about how humans and their people could get along, and how they weren't so different. This was true, from his experience with Arlong he learned that Fishmen could be just as cruel as humans. After all that pointy-nosed jackass enslaved an entire island and killed anyone who did not pay his ridiculous taxes.

When he became second in line, his thoughts turned to what Hody drilled into his head. Humans treated their kind like abominations; Saint Mjosgard proved that in a heartbeat. There were also the stories of pirates storming Fishman Island with fleets of ships, capturing and selling his kind as slaves would forever stick with him. After all he lost his parents to slavers, and that was something he could never forgive humans for...but then again Namur was a willful member of the Whitebeard Pirates, hell he even had Ace as a rival.

God dammit all these contradictions were beginning to make his head hurt.

Finally he became the first one in line. Naruto handed the elderly postman his envelope, and was a little taken back when he gave him a grin. "So, Fishman Island I take it sonny boy?" The man asked without even looking at the envelope.

"Uh, yea. To the Ryugu Palace, it's kind of urgent." Naruto said, his hand slowly reaching to the back of his neck and scratching it.

"Oh? Royalty, my that is a new one." The postman held the envelope to his squinted, bespectacled eyes and narrowed his white bushy eyebrows. "All right, that will be a total on one-thousand beli. For the long distance of course."

Ouch, that was pretty expensive. But he knew that he had no right to complain. Without a grumble or complaint, Naruto reached into his pouch, and sifting around; feeling his roll of medical tape, the pouch of whatever Hody gave him, two cigars, a small matchbook, and what felt like dried seaweed he found his roll of bills. Taking it out the blond took a single thousand beli bill out and handed it to the man.

Without batting an eyelash the postman took it, stamped the envelope, and placed it in a sack full of other assorted envelopes. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Some stamps, envelopes, and I guess more writing paper?" It sounded lame even to him asking for this stuff, but that was all he could find in Kuro's ship.

The man only nodded. He hopped off a stool that he was standing one and went into the back room, and returned three minutes later with what he asked for, and a large, leather bound book.

"Uh, I didn't ask for a book." Naruto said, his right eye twitching a bit. Honestly if he was going to pay for something he did not need...

"This is on the house lad." The elderly postman said with a smile. "I got a feeling you will need it when you're adventuring and whatnot."

"What? How did-"

"Oh I got a keen eye for this stuff lad." The old man said with a chuckle. "I used to be an adventurer like you, but then I took a bullet to the knee.(2)" He began to laugh a little bit and patted his right kneecap. "Without the book, it'll be forty-two beli."

With a little bit of hesitation, Naruto handed him another thousand beli dollar bill. It was really all he had on him at the moment, and he really hated making people give change for such big bills(3).

But the postman took it and gave him the right amount of change without any complaint. After Naruto pocketed his items, he left with a nod of a quick thank you.

However when he exited the building, he was hit with a blast of white smoke. The unexpected hit sent Naruto sailing down the street and he hit the cobblestones hard before rolling once, and landing square on his feet.

Regaining his composure Naruto was greeted with the white-haired man with two cigars firmly clutched in his mouth glaring at him. Why did he look so familiar? Oh yea, he was that Marine Logia-user that got his ass kicked by Dragon.

"Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto, you are under arrest." Smoker said through gritted teeth.

"Hold on a fucking second!" Naruto held up his right arm, and to his surprise his attacker stopped. "Okay, what the fuck are you talking about? What is this Sword of the Sea nonsense? And what the hell did I do to piss you off?"

Smoker raised a glaring eyebrow. Seriously? Was the fishman joking? "Are you kidding me?" The look on Naruto's face showed that he was not playing with him. "Kid, you killed a Marine Captain and his entire crew."

"I killed two of them, so you need to be more specific."

That threw Smoker for a small loop. Two Marine Captains? "You killed Nezumi of Unit Sixteen and his ship-full of men."

"Oh that asshole? He was going to kill an entire village for all their money, and declare it an unfortunate tragedy on Arlong's freshly killed corpse. Did you know Arlong was bribing him to keep that sector quiet? Because I sure do, those were his last words before I _crushed_ his fucking skull!" Naruto's eyes flashed crimson for a brief second out of anger.

This information did not surprise Smoker in the slightest. It was heavily rumored Nezumi was taking bribes, but from who he had no idea. "That does not explain the second one." Now he was goading for some information, incriminating and useful ones to get the facts straight.

"The second one was Captain Stark of Unit Thirteen. He attacked first, and it was out of self-defense because he thought I was Kotetsu's underling." Naruto spat to the side, as if he would be a human's underling. That was the greatest insult imaginable.

Frowning Smoker reached into his coat and pulled out Kotetsu's wanted poster. Yep, Tashigi's information was correct then. That just made this hunt a little more exciting for him. Especially the last crime that was quite personal for him. "You are also under arrest for theft."

"The fuck did I steal!?"

"My cigars!" Smoker bellowed hotly and soon inhaled from the two cigars in his mouth. "Those were imported from the West Blue, and my personal property."

"First of all asshole, Gin was the one who stole those." Naruto said, his sharp teeth grinding against each other. "However," He reached into his pouch and pulled one of them, lit it with one on the matches and placed it within his mouth. "I have grown fond of these things. They steady my nerves." He inhaled and soon exhaled a small cloud of smoke, mocking the Marine Captain. "I ain't giving them up."

Shoving Kotetsu's wanted poster back into his coat, Smoker's fists soon turned into giant clouds of white smoke. "I don't care about that, I'm still going to take you in for all the murders you committed. Once I'm done with you, I'm going after your comrades. "Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu, Gin "The Demon Man", and those two others on your ship are going to hang along side you."

Narrowing his blue eyes, Naruto soon slid into his Fishman Karate stance. He was completely unsure how he was going to defeat a Logia-user, after all his fight with Ace didn't go all that well. But that was then, and this is now. He had information on how to defeat them...but not the materials like Sea Stone, or Haki. Oh well no guts, no glory.

"Bring it on you fruity asshole!" Naruto bellowed.

* * *

><p>(Meanwhile - With Kotetsu and Gin)<p>

"Gahh! Why does this stuff have to be so heavy!" Kotetsu complained louder than he should have.

"Quit your bellyaching, and push!" Gin retorted, sweat pouring down his face.

The reason for the swordsman of the crew was complaining was due to the face that he was pushing a heavy cart full of cannon balls. The two did what they needed to do, after some asking the two found a shop that sold the ammo they needed. Gin, being the more experienced man to sail on the open seas handled everything. With the money they had combined, the two bought fifteen crates of round shot, ten crates of chain-shot, ten crates of grapeshot, twenty barrels full of black gunpowder, and no more than three crates for pistol and rifle ammunition, and crate of buckshot for Gin's shotgun.

In total they purchased a total of thirty-nine crates of ammo and twenty barrels of gunpowder, the cost being one-hundred and forty thousand beli, plus another thousand to hire three of their strongest men to push three carts full of their purchases. It would have cost another thousand more for another two men, but Gin insisted that both Kotetsu and himself could push the other two carts without any problems.

Unfortunately for Gin, he did not think Kotetsu was so weak.

"Seriously Gin. Why did you buy so freaking much?" Kotetsu asked.

"Because someone has to keep the ship stocked. I can rest when I'm dead, and that is only a matter of time!" Gin coughed harshly before calling them to stop for a second. The Combat Commander wiped his forehead and looked at the sandy-haired teen. "And why are you complaining? You're a swordsman, aren't you supposed to be stronger than a normal person?"

"I built my body to endure extreme amounts speed thanks to my devil fruit. And Master Mifune..." He paused for a brief second, his pale-gray eyes gaining a haunted look when the memory of Mifune getting gunned down in front of him flashed through his mind. "During my three years on the island, he helped improve my physical speed, strengthen my core, a good deal of arm strength, sword offense and defense. I can cut through wood, and stone, but I do not believe I can ever cut through steel."

Gin spat to the side in response. "I call bullshit, with enough work it can be possible. After all Mihawk cut through Krieg's Man o' War's like a hot knife through butter."

Kotetsu however said nothing in response. Any swordsman worth his reputation knew of the world's best swordsmen, a man who's yellow eyes shattered the souls of weaker men, his sword that could cleave through anything, a man who was _undefeated_. "Maybe one day Gin, maybe one day."

"That's better, it's a shame that I may not see it though."

"I wholeheartedly agree." A female's voice broke their tender moment.

Turning around, the two men were greeted by the glaring visage of Tashigi, wielding a Marine-issued cutlass, and surrounded by a group of twenty Marines aiming their muskets straight at them.

"Son of a bitch!" Kotetsu cursed out loud.

"'Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu, and Gin "The Demon Man", you're under arrest for murder, piracy, and kidnapping, put your hands up where I can see them." The swordswoman ordered the duo.

"Hey! We're just delivering their purchases." One of the workers barked in protest.

"What he said, I'm too pretty to go to jail!" Another one nearly went into hysterics.

"Shut up you two!" The third raised his voice in displeasure.

"You three are free to go. There is nothing in the law with taking money from a pirate." Well technically there was, but Tashigi knew that it was impossible to _not_ buy from a pirate since there were hundreds, if not thousands of crews roaming the seas. So Smoker, and herself usually let many shop owners slide should they catch them selling their wares to pirates.

The three workers nodded in gratification, and bolted back towards their place of work. Gin glared at their backs and gave them the middle finger.

"Of all the times for you to be weaponless." Kotetsu looked over, seeing Gin without his baldric full of pistols, or his cannon ball tonfa's. "This sucks."

"Please, I was once caught butt-ass naked in a brothel. That didn't stop me." Gin retorted with a roll of his eyes.

"You were at full health." The sandy-haired teen replied.

"Watch and learn junior, I ain't out of the fight yet." However before Gin could do something that would be considered badassed, he went into a horrific coughing. Despite his hand covering his mouth, a good amount of blood sprayed out, and further staining his shirt.

It was at that time Tashigi ordered her men to cuff them. Ten of them separated from the group, two producing a pair of manacles, and when one of them came near the collapsed Combat commander, he made the mistake of thinking he was safe. Without any warning, Gin's right arm shot up and grasped him by the neck, and using this surprise to his advantage Gin stole his flintlock pistol from his belt, aimed, and fired at the nearest Marine.

When the Marine leveling his rifle in-between his eyes went down with a bullet in his belly, Kotetsu unsheathed both his swords at a second's notice. Tapping into his devil fruit power he disappeared, and reappeared in front of Tashigi and her men. "Mirage Sword Style: Moon's Gentle Touch!" Once again he disappeared when the Marine's opened fire, and only succeeded in hitting the broad side of a building. It was then Kotetsu's blades struck flesh, the cuts were deep and precise enough to send them toppling to the ground.

However only Tashigi managed to block his strikes and pushed against him. The Chief Petty Officer gritted her teeth at him a twist at her waist, the woman maneuvered herself to cut him in half at the waist. Kotetsu however anticipated the strike, he blocked the strike with his basked shaped guard, and moved to strike her with the back end of Nidai Kitetsu. Tashigi however ducked her head and pushed herself away to give herself some breathing room.

"And so you follow me. Wow, I honestly wished I anticipated this." Kotetsu remarked sarcastically.

"Shut up Kotetsu. It's my job to place you under arrest." Tashigi narrowed her eyes in disgust.

"Oh I'm sure that is one reason." The swordsman said before sheathing his cutlass. "But we both know the real reason, and no, no, and hell no. I'm not giving Shigure back until you learn how to respect the swords. They aren't tools you stupid twit."

Before Tashigi could respond, she felt a blinding pain in the back of her head and fell to the side. Kotetsu didn't even blink when he saw Gin standing behind her, the butt of a flintlock pistol used as a club to knock the swordswoman out. "Took you long enough."

Gin only spat to the side, and looked over at the bodies cluttering around their cargo. "Shut up, we need to get these back to the ship."

* * *

><p>(With Naruto)<p>

Once again Naruto found himself cursing, and running to escape from another Logia-user...well not essentially escape, but more like dodging, ducking, and throwing stuff at the Marine Captain. However, just like with Ace whatever he threw at him just passed through him leaving him unharmed. That _really_ pissed him off.

"White Blow!" Smoker's shot a cloud of dense smoke from his arms, and blasted Naruto with a vicious strike. Once the fishman was airborne, he shot clouds of normal smoke from his arms and used them to engulf his opponent, then he willed the smoke to be so dense that it trapped him inside. The Marine Captain grinned, inhaling the sweet nicotine from his cigars. It was a victory well earned for him.

Suddenly he felt his smoke prison expanding, the technique that he created to be a perfect pirate catching ensnarement exploded open, and to his surprise a powerful jet of water was flying at him, and he had to let go of the blond fishman in order to have the technique pass through his body. After all, while he mastered his fruit to an extent, Smoker knew that he had a bit to go before he could turn into smoke out of reflex. (4)

That left Naruto landing on his feet, hacking out cloud of smoke from his lungs. "You pansy ass coward!"

"What did you call me boy?" Smoker narrowed his eyes.

"You heard me, you pansy ass coward. You and that Logia fruit of yours is nothing more than a short cut for cheaters." Naruto ranted loudly. He knew that at this point in time he could not beat Smoker, the man just had far too much experience, and he could not hit something that just passes through him. Instead he was getting the civilians attention, to try and get them over on his side to put the odds in his favor.

"Look at you, a big, tough Marine man. You may be a Captain, but to me you're nothing more than yellow-bellied wimp, one who can't take a good punch." Naruto cracked his knuckles, his face slowly morphing into his infamous shark-like grin. "Now tell me fruit-boy, are you a man? Or are you a bitch? If you are one then fight me, man to man!"

His rant was rewarded with the sound of guns clocking back.

Apparently Smoker was not alone in his mission to capture him, that did not surprise Naruto at all. However, he saw the looks on their faces. They were subtle hints like raised eyebrows, narrowed eyes, pronounced frowns, and questionable looks. It was apparent that his opponent, whoever the hell he was never fought without his devil fruit powers.

"You know," One of the Marines finally worked the courage to voice his thoughts, "The kid has a point."

"What did you say?" His companion said.

"Well think about it, Captain Smoker has always caught his prey with his devil fruit powers. And not once did he not use them to do it."

"That's ridiculous."

"Actually it's true." One of the older Marines said. "I've served with Smoker for a number of years, and so far I have not seen him _not_ use his powers."

"I hate to admit it but he's right." A fourth Marine joined their conversation. "I have never seen him take a punch without turning into smoke. Huh, it really makes you think; can he really take any sort of physical punishment?"

"Wow, who knew our Captain was such a wuss?"

"Hold your tongues!" Smoker's voice silenced the entire street. The Marine Captain spat out the butts of his cigars from his mouth, and just as quickly he took two more cigars from the left sleeve of his jacket and popped them into his mouth. Upon lighting them with his zippo lighter he turned to glare at his subordinates. "I am not a coward. Unlike the lot of you I got the shit kicked out of me patrolling the streets of my hometown as a _kid_ without the use of a devil fruit."Smoker reached behind his back and pulled his jitte out of its leather holster that was strapped to his jacket. "And only three things have changed since I was a kid."

With a sudden burst of speed Smoker got fact to face with Naruto. With a simple movement he kneed the fish man right in the stomach. "I joined the Marines," Then gripping hilt of his jitte with both hands, the Marine Captain twisted his hips and swung, nailing Naruto right in the mouth that sent him into the a street light. "I traded in my baseball bat with nails hammered into it," He then lashed out with a kick that sent Naruto to the side and into a stall. "And I gave up my ability to swim. If you want me to prove I'm superior without my devil fruit, the fine I will beat you without it!"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood and teeth, Naruto pushed himself to his feet. His left eye was closed from the blood falling from his head, and he clutched the area that was forming a massive bruise. However instead of being mad, he actually chuckled. Not only was his plan working, but Smoker hit hard, real hard, just like Ace.

_Perfect._

Reaching into his pouch Naruto pulled out his second cigar, since the first one had long since gone out. Placing the bottom end in his mouth, he struck the match against the side of the small matchbook and lit the lit the cigar. After taking several puffs he took it out, regrew his teeth, and placed it back in between his two sharp dentures. "All right, my turn!"

Smoker was greeted by the sight of of Naruto's infamous shark-like grin, and then a super fast right hook coming straight at him. The Marine raised his jitte up and successfully blocked the strike to his face. He moved his right leg up for a devastating knee strike, it was blocked by Naruto when he lifted his left leg and blocked it. Snarling in response, Smoker raised his left leg to knee him, but yet again Naruto blocked it with his right one.

The two scowled at each other, both trading blows, but not landing anything other than some painful shock that both their knees were experiencing. Naruto unclenched his right fist to grab the jitte, with a sudden yank to the side he made Smoker lose the grip on his weapon. Ignoring the sound of the weapon breaking through the wall, Naruto laid on a vicious barrage of punches. He hit him in the chest, the stomach, and the face, each punch resounding throughout the street like a baseball bat hitting tanned leather. However despite all the punches Smoker did not turn into smoke, instead he took each hit like a champ.

Smoker however did not just take those punches laying down. Gritting his teeth and inhaling from his cigars, he punched the blond fishman square in the face. The Marine did not flinch when his knuckles were cut by the sharp teeth, nor did he flinch when he saw his own blood. Instead he took and traded each punch with vicious force. All ready Naruto's left eye was swollen shut from the blood running down his head and from his vicious right hook.

The two butted heads, and the resounding force forced them to stumble back from their slug fest. Both of them were panting loudly, large puffs of smoke bellowing from their mouths.

Naruto spat out the butt of his cigar in disgust. Blood and tobacco did not mix, seriously that shit was nasty. Bringing his left forearm up he wiped away the blood from the side of his mouth and grimaced when one of his own teeth fell from his gums and into his hand. Narrowing his eyes he gripped the tooth between his fingers.

Smoker however did not spit out his cigars, he let them burn to keep him awake and focused. He could feel his white hair becoming matted with his own blood, his torso ached, and his fists were bruising underneath his gloves. _'Damn it this kid is good.'_ He thought to himself. The Logia-user never fought against a fishman before, especially without his devil fruit powers. And he was not weak by any means, he was a Cadet during the time of Admiral "Black Arm" Zephyr; the man who trained all the people who became Vice-Admirals and Admirals of this day. That was the time the Marines really prospered in manpower, and becoming real threats to the pirates of the world. He became strong during that time, and he was not going to lose to some punk!

The two opponents yelled at each other and rush at each other once again. Smoker landed a clean hit on Naruto face, the blow of the hit rattling his brain inside his skull, but Naruto punched Smoker on the right side of his chest with his left hand. The single tooth dug into his flesh and he moved it downward leaving a bloody gash. Then letting go of the tooth, Naruto grabbed the Marine by the throat and hit his ten times int the gut before punching Smoker right in the nose.

Letting go of the Marine Captain's neck, Naruto allowed Smoker to drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes completely unconscious.

The street was silent after that, no one said a word, no one even dared to breathe.

Finally Naruto regrew his teeth and spat out whatever remained. He carefully lifted one foot up and began walking back towards his ship. The Marines did nothing to stop him, how could they? Without using any of his Fishman Karate techniques he beat one of the strongest Captains in the Marines.

"He sure knows how to take a punch." Naruto said out loud. Smoker earned the right for him to say that at least. (5)

He didn't remember much after that.

* * *

><p>(Bashura and Carmen-Fifteen minutes Later)<p>

Along the busy streets of the island the residents parted ways as the eight foot tall navigator walked with a woman wearing a dark red flamenco dress at his side. It was an unusual sight, but seeing as they were causing no trouble they let them be.

"All of that is for cooking?" Bashura raised his tattooed eyebrow in curiosity. Normally he would have sniffed the bags she was carrying, but that would have been rude in present company. He would know, because he did it earlier in his life and got slapped for it, and was called a pervert.

The pink-haired women shook her head in a negative. Despite her womanly appearance the chef was holding five large bags each in her hands, each were full to bursting and probably weighted a hundred pounds each on her arms. She did not look to be out of breath or uncomfortable, instead she just gave her savage-looking crew mate a smile. "Only seven bags have our needed supplies that will last two months. The other three contain clothes for myself and the four of you."

"Clothes? Why spend money on something so unneeded?"

"Well tell me, how long have you worn that outfit?"

"Um, a while?" Bashura honestly lost count on how long he wore his single outfit, it was the only thing that fit his large body, and reminded him of home.

"Exactly. That is just unsanitary and disgusting." Carmen scrunched her face in disgust. "You make take care of the ship, but you do not take care of yourselves. After all your Captain still wears those bloodstained pants of his, and do not get me started on Gin's shirt."

The Catman had to agree with her on that one. Despite his best efforts he could not find any clothing on the ship for Gin or anyone that seemed appropriate. Whatever was left over from their original burning was quickly thrown overboard because it had Kuro's Jolly Roger. The Black Cat Pirates were dead and gone, and there was no need to have their symbol pop back up ever again. Speaking of which, he really needed to speak to the Captain about changing the name of the ship. But in the meantime he hoped Carmen succeeded where he had failed.

"Are you sure you don't need any help carrying those bags?" Bashura had to ask one more time, "They look to be awfully heavy."

"Oh don't worry yourself over me." Carmen laughed with a surprising amount of dignity. "I'm far from being weak. Besides you have enough on your hands all ready."

"I'm only carrying the toiletries, some maps, and medical supplies." That was only five bags he had to carry, did that mean she could carry more if needed? Huh, well you needed to be strong to survive at sea, and Bashura guessed women weren't any different.

A sudden crashing sound caused both of them to turn around. Immediately dropping his bags, Bashura brought his right hand to his belt and pulled out his hatchet. Upon bringing out his weapon the people screamed and dispersed, but instead of attacking the savage-looking man froze and immediately holstered his weapon. Laying collapsed in an alleyway, and crushing two overturned garbage cans was an unconscious Naruto. "Cap'n!?"

"My goodness, what happened to him?" Carmen asked.

"I dunno," Bashura knelt down and shouldered the fishman in the fireman carry. "I think we best get back to the ship."

"I agree. Don't forget your bags."

It took under ten minutes for the three of them to get back to their ship, and they were immediately greeted by both Gin and Kotetsu loading the last of their cargo onto the ship. "Kotetsu! We require some assistance!" Bashura yelled out.

"Bashura? Damn what happened to Uzumaki?" The swordsman demanded.

"No idea, but I think we need to go!"

"No shit, we were ambushed by a bunch of Marines. Gin!"

"Yea, yea I got it."

* * *

><p>(Thirty Minutes Later)<p>

"I'm assuming you got everthin-FUCKING OW!" Naruto cussed out when Bashura dabbed his head with a swab soaked with rubbing alcohol.

"Everything and more thanks to you Cap'n." The grinning navigator replied when he began to bandage Naruto's head with gauze. Bashura held his right wrist out to show off a wrist watch with a glass orb sitting on top of it, and a needle floating inside the middle of that orb suspended from the top by a thin piece of metal. "I got the Log Pose, a dozen sea maps, and everything else on the list. Oh, and Carmen got a lot of food for us."

"That's great and all, but now we're in a load of trouble." Kotetsu rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly, honestly who knew it would be that hard to move so many crates of ammo?

"I still cannot believe you tricked Smoker, let alone beat him." Gin said with a coughing laugh. Gone was his old bloodstained outfit, thrown overboard by an irate Carmen who demanded he change clothes right away. He now wore a black t-shirt, a open gray jacket that went to his waist, a pair of black pants, and his well worn brown boots. After they escaped from the island he immediately equipped his leather baldric that held his four flintlock pistols for his torso, and his leather belt that carried an additional two pistols, and his tonfa's tipped with heavy iron balls secured in their snap-away holsters; just in case they were attacked. (6)

"I'm just glad he took the bait, but man that guy can throw a punch." Naruto winced when their navigator secured the gauze wrap on his head, "Thanks for that Bashura."

"Not a problem Cap'n," Bashura chirped brightly before his face became deadly serious. "But I cannot keep doing this. We need a doctor."

"I thought you were a doctor?"

"I am not one." The navigator said. "I can bandage cuts, and set bones. But I'm best with the weather and the sea, they speak to me, warning me about any sudden changes."

The three on deck sweat-dropped, and nearly came close to face-faulting at that proclamation. They were trusting their lives with that mumbo jumbo? God help them should they survive the Grand Line.

"Speaking of which, Uzumaki," Carmen's voice interrupted their thoughts. "I believe I should have a word with you about our positions of this ship."

"Positions? What the hell are you talking about?" Naruto demanded.

Ignoring his outburst, the chef of the motley crew walked down the steps with a bit of flair. Gone was her dark red flamenco dress with white frills, instead it was replaced by a emerald green dress with dark blue frills, and matching high-heeled shoes. She still had that green sash on her waist with the large red rose on her hip, and the same exact jewelry they met her in. "What I mean is, since we are going to be traveling together for an undetermined amount of time, we might as well have specific roles if we are to survive on the sea."

"Now wait a minute-"

"I vote Gin to be the First Mate!" Kotetsu exclaimed loudly.(7)

"What!" Gin demanded.

"Oh don't look so surprised, you have more experience running a ship than all of us." Kotetsu crossed his arms in statement, "I have no leadership qualities, but I know how to work on a ship from my time in the Marines, and how to use a sword. That's all I have to say about that."

"I agree, but that is why he should be the Captain!" Naruto pointed out, to him that meant that if they could promote Gin as Captain they would stop calling him that.

"Nope." Bashura pointed at the blond-haired fishman. "You got up all together, you're the Cap'n, Cap'n"

"I not your Captain dammit!"

"Actually I'm agreeing with the big lug." Gin coughed out, the initial shock of his promotion to First Mate being over. "Despite you not liking us all that much, you somehow managed to bring us together. Now you may be a pain in my ass, but you've shown to be good people." The irony was not lost on him, despite giving them all the cold shoulder, and yelling he did at them, Naruto was a much better man then Don Krieg ever was. "You are the Captain of this ship."

"But...but...but..." Try as he might, Naruto could not come up with an explanation as to why he could not be their Captain. The different species was not an excuse, and he could not tell them he was already in Hody's crew, he just _couldn't_. The way they looked at him sent shivers down his spine, and made his guts twist in knots. Damn them all.

With a reluctant sigh, Naruto finally gave in. "All right, I'm the Captain."

Clapping excitedly, Carmen could not help but twirl in delight. "Excellent! Now as Captain we all have some things to say to you regarding the ship, and our next course of action."

_Goddamn it._

* * *

><p>(Meanwhile on the island)<p>

Smoker finally came out of his unconscious state, his face twisted in a scowl. He automatically knew that he had gotten his ass beaten by Naruto, and he realized that he was tricked into it. The reasonable thing he could of done back them was not take his challenge and just captured him right then and there. Instead, he stupidly gave into peer pressure, fought the fishman like in the old time Naval boxing matches, and let him get away.

That was the _second_ time this happened. First it was Monkey D. Luffy that escaped him, and now Uzumaki Naruto. Ain't life just a bitch?

"Captain?" One of his subordinates greeted him with a stern expression.

"What is it?" Smoker irritably demanded. "Where are my fucking smokes?" He badly need a nicotine fix after this fucktastic day.

"The doctor's took them when we brought you on board the ship. Sorry Captain, no smoking in the medical bay."

"_Fantastic._" Smoker dropped his head on the pillow. "What is the damage? Did we at least manage to capture any of Uzumaki's crew?"

"I'm afraid not. All of Uzumaki Naruto's crew escaped capture." The Petty Officer said with a small bit of hesitation. "Group two could not find Bashura, or "Five-Alarm" Carmen the supposed kidnapped chef from Loguetown." The Marine flipped though the report until he found what he needed. "Group one was annihilated by Gin "The Demon Man" and "Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu."

"So Tashigi is dead." A pang in his chest was all Smoker felt when he heard that. It was such a shame, Tashigi has so much potential.

"Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi took a bad blow to the head, she is resting in a separate room." The Petty Officer said much to Smoker's relief. "Out of the twenty men that accompanied her, ten sustained deep lacerations that should heal up completely in a weeks time should they not move. Another ten however had the displeasure of encountering Gin. There were thankfully no fatalities, but umm." He grimaced when he looked at the extent of their injuries again. "They are not going to be able to perform their duties for quite sometime."

"I see." Smoker looked over to his bandaged right side, grimacing when he moved his shoulder(8). "Ugh, damn that Uzumaki. He will pay for this. Next time we meet, I will capture him my way." Laying his head back onto the pillow he watched the Petty Officer leave him to check up on the other members in the medical ward.

After five minutes passed he spotted the Chore Boy passing by his room. "Hey you!" The young lad stopped and looked into his room. "Go get me my cigars."

* * *

><p>(Fishman Island-A Few Days Later)<p>

"Captain Hody! Captain Hody I got something for you." Hammond cried out in glee.

Sitting upon his throne in the Fishman District, Hody Jones regarded Hammond bordly. Their newest recruit was a slim-looking bright yellow skinned fishman with medium-length, puffy orange hair and a long and squarish neck with a small beard. His facial features were quite sinister: they included a long and sharp beak-like muzzle, razor-like teeth, and dark, glaring eyes. On his neck he had the tattoo of the Arlong Pirates Jolly Roger symbol near his left shoulder, and the tattoo for the New Fishman Pirates on the right side of his torso. The new guy wore a long sleeved black coat with a striped undershirt, both of which he always kept open to display his tattoos. He also wore shin-high, frayed white pants with a mint-green sash and black sandals. On his head he has a black fedora that drew away the earrings he had on both ears.

"Huh, I wonder what he fuss is about?" Ikaros Much scratched his bearded chin.

"Hell if I know. Maybe he is trying to brag about all the human's he killed today." Zeo crossed his arms in from of his chest in displeasure.

Stopping in front of the throne, the daggertooth pike conger fishman panted loudly. Bringing his right hand into his coat, and pulled out a piece of paper. "I killed some bounty hunters on the surface."

"Big deal. Get on with it newbie!" Zeo barked at their new member.

"Yes, sir! You know how Uzumaki has not reported in yet? Well I believe I found out why!" Hammond gestured at the piece of paper in his hand.

"Gimme that!" Ikaros Much snatched the paper from his hands and glared at it. The glare soon turned into astonishment before he barked out laughing. "Captain Hody. You might want to take a look at this."

Grabbing the piece of paper out of his hands, Hody Jones took a look at what was written. And like Ikaros Much, he barked out laughing and tossed the paper until it drifted down onto the ground to reveal it's contents.

**Wanted Dead or Alive**

**"Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto**

**$45,000,000 Beli**

"Ah, that makes much more sense now. He finally got out of Jinbe's clutches and killed so many humans that he now has a bounty on his head! God I love this kid!" Hody continued to laugh uproariously.

The various of them members of The New Fishman Pirates joined their Captain in joy. To them this was a major victory that was long over due.

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Hey everyone, another chapter out and ready for you.<p>

(1) This as brought up to me by reviewer NeoNazo356, seriously thank you for that dude, I forgot how money could get ruined when wet. Thanks for the briefcase being waterproof idea.

(2) If you don't know what this is based off of, well I do not know what to tell you. And yes I know, that joke is like kicking a dead horse, but I always wanted to write it in a story of mine. So there.

(3) That's me all the way. Where ever I go I don't always have the right amount of change, buy a pack of gum, pay with ten dollars because that's all I got on me. It always makes me feel bad since that constantly happened to me when I used to work retail. Seriously, fuck that!

(4) According to the wikia, smoke did not have the ability to do that until Marineford. Look it up if you don't believe me.

(5) All right, now I bet you're wondering what the fuck that was. Well Naruto simply tricked Smoker, and had a old Naval boxing slugfest. He won because he was physically stronger, you know being a fishman and all.

(6) What can I say? Gin needed an outfit change, and the same went with Carmen. I mean after all Nami changes clothes like crazy, so why can't she?

(7) Yes, I made Gin the First Mate. After all the shit he put up with Krieg he deserves it, plus what I wrote is also a reasonable explanation.

(8) Smoker does have a scar on the right side of his chest, the wikia never said how he got it, so I decided to have Naruto be the one to do it. Because, well why not?

And to the anonymous reviewer called Zed, no I am not going to do that. They _just_ got into the Grand Line, and her island is somewhere off in the deeper parts of the Grand Line. Plus, what would she bring to the crew huh? She is a twenty-one year old civilian before the timeskip, and more than likely has a life that does not need to be filled with violence and danger. Will they meet her though? Well that has the remain to be seen.


	11. An unexpected reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. If I did I would be one of the most infamous pirates of all time!

"Talk" Talking

'_Think_' Thinking

* * *

><p><em>Well this is the first entry in this journal of mine. Honestly, I have no idea what that that postman was thinking when he gave it to me, but whatever.<em>

_To those who don't know who I am, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm the only child of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina my real parents. I am the adopted son of King Neptune, and Queen Otohime. I am the adopted sibling of Prince Fukaboshi, Prince Ryuboshi, Prince Manboshi, and Princess Shirahoshi._

_Was that too much to take in at once? _

_Well let me explain real carefully. I am a tiger shark fishman. Yea that's right a fishman, and if you want to stop reading go ahead, but if you wish to continue reading then I won't stop you._

_After all, this is going to be one hell of a story someday._

* * *

><p>"Huh, Carmen did a hell of a job." Naruto said to himself while he looked in the seven foot tall mirror resting several feet from his desk.<p>

Thanks to Carmen's...suggestion, the tiger shark fishman changed into one of the many sets of clothing she bought for him. It was strange that they all fit him perfectly, but he wrote it off to being a strange power human woman possessed.

Currently he wore a long blue Captain's coat that went to his the middle of his shins with golden trimmings, and golden blank epaulets secured onto his shoulders. The back of it was cut out to make room for his dorsal fin. Beneath his coat, he wore his black vest that had small, but incredibly powerful magnets woven into the back, and a pair of plain white pants. The only thing that he now wore from the island were his black open-toed sandals, and his black belt that had a silver belt buckle that depicted an angry bull shark's head on it that hung diagonally at his right hip with his white watertight pouch on the back of it, and his shark tooth necklace that hung off a strong chain.

He had to admit he looked pretty badassed.

However, a frown soon came to Naruto's face. The look suite him well, too well in fact. He looked like a well respected pirate Captain and he knew that he was far from one. After all how could he take pride in being one where he absolutely loathed the people he was traveling with...all right maybe _loathed_ was too harsh of a word, if anything he found himself tolerating them more and more everyday.

"Thanks for the coat Carmen," Naruto said to himself before taking the coat off and draping it on his arm. "But your timing for it is pretty awful."

Opening the closet to his room, Naruto placed the coat on a coat hanger and hung it next to shirts of various colors, and a dozen pairs of pants. It sure didn't seem like much, but it did comfort him that he would not have to wear the same outfit everyday, he would have to thank Carmen somehow. After closing the closet door, the blond turned to take a look at what he called his room.

From what Bashura told him, the room used to belong to Kuro. It was pretty spacious, the room being as large as a living room within a house, and three small circular windows that let in just enough light thanks to Naruto parting the purple curtains. A striped couch was settled on the right side of the room near the windows, and an oak desk with a matching chair sat a few feet away from it. Sitting upon the desk was a large leather bound book and a ink and pen, along with a candle.

To the left side of the room was a single bed with black sheets covering it. And resting among the wall, firmly secured in-between the windows were two wooden shelves with a wooden bar each to secure his trophies. Placed in one of them were Kuro's glasses and his retracted Cat Claws, and securely placed in the corner of the room was Arlong's Kiribachi; they were his trophies from killing the both pirate Captains.

His room was good, but it didn't feel like it was _his_. Eventually he would have to do a whole makeover to get it to feel like his...in fact he would have to work on the whole damn ship! Seriously what was Kuro's thing with darkness? Was it suppose to make him more fearsome or something? Mainly everything was supported by candle light or oil lamps, the only thing that even had electricity was the kitchen.

"I hate them so much." Naruto groaned wearily. The day he was 'officially' made Captain those four jackasses bombarded him with a list of complaints, or suggestions about their living conditions in the ship.

Apparently Carmen was dissatisfied with the lack or electricity in the ship-a trait that was shared by all of them apparently. And she was not happy about the out of date freezer they stored their food in, something about the plates and silverware, and I think it was the furniture. Bashura had concerns about the cargo hold, and the lack of life boats. For Gin, the First Mate desired cleaning and repair kits for the guns and cannons, and lots of leather. Kotetsu, thankfully did not really require anything other than some sharpening stones.

Seriously, who knew it would be this much of a pain in the ass to run a ship? Naruto did not envy Fisher Tiger at all, seriously if he had to deal with the likes of a crew like these guys every single day...well then bless his departed soul.

"Ugh, one thing at a time. Right now I need to ask Bashura how long it will be until the next island." Upon exiting his room and getting up on deck, he was greeted by a tired Kotetsu who was standing at the helm, and Bashura waving at him with a grin on his face.

"Morning, Cap'n!" The Catman greeted the fishman.

"Morning." Naruto returned the greeting, he didn't rebuke his title this single time. "Hey, how long will it be until we reach the next island?"

"We will reach Cactus Island in three hours if the wind keeps up." Bashura said.

"It's a good thing too, I'm getting a little restless." Kotetsu said tiredly. "Seriously, we need more room on this ship or something to do exercises."

"I know, I'll add it to the list." Scratch off Kotetsu not requiring anything else. "I got the money for it, but we need the supplies, and manpower, and especially the time to do it." Naruto scratched the back of his head irritably. "And we just have not had the time for any of that."

"Being chased by the Marines can do that to you." Carmen's voice turned their heads to her presence. She was dressed in a long-sleeved, light blue form fitting dress with matching heels, the only jewelry she wore were a pair of sapphire earrings. Perfectly balanced in her right hand was a tray filled with cold glasses of lemonade. "Sorry for the interruption, gentleman. But I figured you three would like something cold on such a hot day."

"Thank you Carmen, this is much appreciated." Bashura took what looked liked the biggest glass into his beefy hands, and took a long drink from it. "Mmm, delicious."

"I agree, did you make this out of real lemons?" Kotetsu asked.

"But of course, it would be an insult for me not to." Carmen giggled before turning towards Naruto. Giving him a pleasant smile, she offered one of the glasses. "Come now Captain, aren't you thirsty?" The chef opened her eyes and Naruto could have sworn he saw malicious intent coming from her, "After all, that has to be the only reason you're not wearing that coat I bought you."

"Yea, that's the reason." Naruto lied through his sharp teeth as he took the glass. "Have any of you seen Gin?"

"Well...either he is working in the armory, or..."

"OH GOD WHY!?"

"Yep, I thought as much."

Naruto palmed his forehead with his free hand, "You are definitely not a doctor Bashura."

* * *

><p>Three hours later the motley crew came in sight of an unusual island. Apparently Cactus Island lived up to its name with several cactus-shaped mountains, with what looked like tens of thousands of spikes littering them. Resting at the base of the mountains were hundreds of homes, with a couple dozen ships anchored in the ports surrounding the island.<p>

"All right, do any of you have a clue what to expect from this island?" Naruto asked the four on deck.

"I know the Log changes in less than one day." Bashura answered. "That's what I'm feeling anyways."

"I got nothing Uzumaki, never been to this part of the Grand Line." Kotetsu shrugged his shoulders.

"I assume you two know nothing as well?" Naruto asked the First Mate, and the chef.

They both nodded their heads in return.

"Well all right, everyone arm yourselves. We got a lot of unknowns here, so use something you're comfortable with." Of course that order was redundant to the guys, it was Carmen who was an unknown factor.

Before they docked in port, Naruto was greeted by a mass of people waving their arms, and cheering for their homecoming. When they set anchor and stepped onto the docks, they were greeted by a tall man with a small red nose and, blond hair in a style that looked like a wig with three thick curls on each side of his head. He was dressed like a gentleman, wearing a blue suit, white undershirt, and shiny black buckled shoes. Clutched in his large hands was a saxophone.

"Welcome to Whiskey Peak, the town of music and liquor!" The odd-looking man greeted Naruto with a large smile. "I am Igarappoi, the Mayor of this town."

"Um, greetings. I am Uzumaki Naruto, and these are my companions." Naruto gestured towards his hitch hikers. "This is our second stop on the Grand Line, and we need to I guess stay here until our Log Pose resets."

"Ho-Ho, it's not a problem young man. Most of our visitors are travelers just entering the Grand Line, it's how we get most of our business." Igarappoi said with a wide grin. "In fact, we got a pirate crew that arrived an hour ago. Do you wish to join us? The Captain simply cannot get enough of our food, and his crew are enjoying the company of our most beautiful women on the island, and drinking our finest ales with gusto."

"Hmm..." Naruto looked over to Gin, "What do you say? Should we stay a while or is it an unnecessary risk?"

"I say we stay." Gin shrugged in response. "We have been traveling the sea for too long now, I think a night in a town will do us some good."

"I assume the rest of you agree?"

After receiving many nods, Naruto turned towards Igarappoi. "Well it looks we're staying here for the night."

"Splendid, please follow me to the tavern. The festivities are in full swing, and it's like my wife always said, the more the merrier!" The mayor of the town laughed a little too loudly for Naruto's tastes.

After being guided through the town, Igarappoi threw open the double doors, and Naruto and company were greeted by the most unexpected sight. At the largest table, Luffy was stuffing himself silly with a various assortment of meats, Nami and Zoro were having a drinking contest with a good lot of the townsfolk, and Sanji; along with Usopp to a lesser extent were flirting with the various lovely women in the establishment. All was joyous and merry, but when Igarappoi threw open the doors, disturbing them all from their partying everything went dead silent when both crews locked onto each other for the first time.

"You!?" Zoro pointed at Kotetsu.

"Gin!?" Sanji yelled in shock.

"Straw Hat!?" Gin's eyes widened.

"Sanji!?" Carmen voice rang out.

"Not you again!" Nami bolted up, readying her collapsible staff when she looked upon Naruto.

"Shark-man!" Luffy seemed to be the only one to greet the newcomers with a joyous, food filled smile.

"Oh shit, not you guys." Naruto palmed his face harshly.

"Carmen!" Sanji leapt to his feet, huge pink hearts springing out of his eyes. For some asinine reason the chef twirled towards her, keeping perfect balance on both the tips of his shoes. "Oh, my lovely Carmen. You beauty is like a beautiful rose in bloom in the middle of a wasteland, one that I would gladly pick without the use of saftey-" With a flick of her wrist, the pink-haired woman produced a fan from her right sleeve, swung and nailed the blond-haired chef right in the face, causing him to comically crumple to the ground.

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto looked to see his chef wielding a small iron fan. The weapon was snapped shut, but that looked like it hurt if the weirdo on the floor twitching was any indication. "So...a small iron fan is your weapon?" Way to state the obvious Naruto.

"Mhmm, it's much more elegant than a pistol or a sword." Carmen flicked it open to reveal a dozen steel separators with suspiciously sharp points at the top of it, but settled in-between the separators were beautiful rose patterns tailored into the silk fabric.

"I take offense to that," Kotetsu protested loudly. "Also, what the hell? You were in a cook off with this guy, you accepted defeat gracefully."

"I admit he is a wonderful chef, but he's a womanizing pervert."

That made a lot of sense to Naruto's group that day.

After Carmen's proclamation of pervert hating, Sanji brought himself back to his feet. His fixation on Carmen gone, for now, he settled his lone eye on Gin. "I see you finally left Krieg."

"Yep." Gin shrugged in reply.

"And you crewed up with a fishman? No offense to you of course." Sanji really did not mean any offense of course, after all Naruto did kill the monster that hurt Nami after all.

While Naruto shrugged off whatever Sanji was saying, and walked off towards a random table. Gin however stayed where he was and told Sanji the truth. "Yea, I crewed up with a fishman. He's a antisocial pain in my ass, but he's been taking care of my poisoned ravaged body, got Carmen to put some delicious food in my belly, and a roof over my head. He's all right in my books."

"Well I'm glad to see you're alive at least. You were touch and go for a long while."

"You do not know the half of it."

"So, what happened to Krieg anyways?" Sanji could not help but ask, the man after all, did attack his place of work.

"I will tell you that story over a cold glass of rum." Gin paused to cough lightly in his left hand. "My treat."

While Gin was reacquainting with the man who saved his life, Kotetsu; now with two mugs of ale in him sat in front of Zoro. The green-haired swordsman did not look even remotely amused, if anything his looks alone would have disintegrated the sandy-haired teen into oblivion.

"All right, before you try and kill me, just hear me out all right." Now either it was the liquor, or the urge to live, Kotetsu was not sure. But he needed to get something straight with his fellow Kitetsu wielder, or else things would go really badly for everyone. "I'm sorry I tried to kill you and take your swords."

Zoro's posture changed a little bit, and he lifted his mug to his lips to swallow his alcoholic beverage. All right, so far so good. "I am also sorry if I said anything to offend your senses. That however was not entirely _me_, that was Magara, a deranged psychopathic swordsman that my mind...I guess developed during the battle my Marine Unit took on Morgan "Moonscar" McCrite, and he surfaced when the Iron Island Massacre happened when the Marines slaughtered everyone other than myself."

The only reaction he got from the three-sword user was a raised green eyebrow. "He is me, only horrific in every way imaginable. For example, I want to collect all the twelve Supreme Grade Swords, the twenty-one Great Grade Swords, and the three Kitetsu blades so they don't fall into the wrong hands like corrupted Marines, or pirates that will kill without any sort of hesitation. Only he wants to use them to kill everyone, you get me?"

Drowning his mug, Zoro let out a light sigh of satisfaction before speaking for the first time. "You're not going to take my swords though, are you?"

Kotetsu could not help but smile. Finally, it seemed like he found someone he could actually talk to about...well his beliefs. "No, you do not view swords as tools. You see them as partners, and take good care of them." He gestured at the Wado Ichimonji, "For example, even though your guard is down, you always take the briefest of glances at that sword. It must mean the world to you. And I can say the same thing about Sandai Kitetsu. It may be a problem child like Nidai Kitetsu, but I see you treat a Cursed Blade with an equal amount of respect as if it were any of the Supreme Grade Swords, or even the lesser ones as well."

A smile came to Zoro's face, and he chuckled loudly. "You're not the asshole I thought you were then."

A minor tick came to Kotetsu's cheek when he heard that, "However I still find the use of a three sword style highly ridiculous."

Zoro gave Kotetsu a strained smile, "Oh really now?"

On the other side of the tavern Bashura happily settled himself into the booth Sanji was occupying until they showed up. The sound of the wood creaking under his weight caused Usopp's skinny body to straighten up in fear.

_'Oh my God, look at that monster!'_ Usopp mentally screamed inside his own mind. And who could blame him? Bashura was an eight foot tall man that probably weighed at least three of him, with arms the size of tree trunks that would easily snap him in half like a twig. And those tattoo's, every single line of black ink covering his brown skin made him look like a savage from the far off lands.

A serving wench came over and handed Bashura the biggest mug they had, which still looked quite puny in his meaty hands. After politely thanking the lady for her kindness, the navigator of Naruto's group brought the mug to his lips, and practically inhaled the contents down his throat. After guzzling it down, he lowered it to reveal a white creamy mustache upon his upper lip. "Mmm, now that hit the spot."

"W-What!?" Usopp blinked his eyes rapidly to make sure he was not hallucinating, "Milk? Why are you drinking milk in a bar!?"

"A growing boy like me needs his calcium." Bashura said with a wide grin.

"G-Growing!? You're twice the size of my entire crew!"

"Your crew?" Bashura raised a tattooed eyebrow.

"Yea, that's right!" Springing to his feet, Usopp dramatically clenched his fist and placed it over his heart. "Across the seas every man woman and child has heard of my famous exploits. Tales of how I defeated a thousand men with only fifty of my own are of legend. The ladies love me, the men respect me, and the children want to be me. I am the King of Snipers, Captain Usopp!"

The Zoan-user only dully looked at the long-nosed liar like he was an idiot. "Right, sure you are. Waitress we need some water, this guy's pants are on fire!" He said, immediately losing interest in the Straw Hat Pirates sniper.

Usopp could only collapse in despair at being found out, a gigantic rain cloud soon forming over his head as a sign of depression.

And while everyone else was conversing, Naruto was happy to be by himself and out of the spot light. A mug of rum was clutched in his bandaged right hand, his third one within the hour, and five plates full of meat and vegetables were all ready settling in his belly, and he was working on the sixth at the moment. The blond quietly observed the party going on, everyone was cheering, dancing, eating and drinking to their hearts content.

But despite their cheerful natures, the tiger shark fishman kept his wits about him. Something was not right about this town, the townsfolk were being _way too friendly_ to a bunch of pirates and whatever the hell his group was. Business or not, it was highly suspicious. That was why he kept an eye on the four that he had the _privilege_ to travel with.

As far as he was seeing, Kotetsu and Zoro were hitting it off...if their glaring and trying to out drink each other was any indication. Bashura seemed to have been ignoring the long-nosed weirdo, who seemed to have somehow put off the friendly navigator, huh he never thought that to be possible. Gin and Carmen seemed to have been enjoying Sanji's company, granted the blond-haired chef went from lecherous to sociable at the drop of a hat. However he did not see that straw hat weirdo or Arlong's former slave.

After swallowing a mouthful of steak, Naruto closed his eyes for a second and drank down his rum. The sound of heavy foot steps, and a light body sitting across from him caused him open his eyes to see the orange-haired woman sitting across from him, and the strew hat...looking more like a balloon with that large...elastic torso of his, oh God dammit another devil fruit-user. Just freaking perfect.

However, Naruto did not bat an eyelash and gulped down his drink and stared straight at the woman. "Yes?"

"Why are you here?" Nami demanded.

"Well, my father met my mother. They went out on a few dates, married and one magical evening after they got married-"

Nami's hot glare cut him off for any further smartassery. "Why are you here with a bunch of humans? Did you enslave them like Arlong did with me?"

"Whoa, Nami that is pretty-"

"Shut up Luffy." Nami resisted the urge to hit her Captain, "I need to know. He may have killed Arlong, but that does not mean I even remotely trust him."

Naruto only gave the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates a flat glare. Already he felt a migraine coming coming on from being in close quarters with a bunch of humans, but this was going over the top for him. Seriously, him as a slaver? "First of all, Nami was it? I am here because that prick Arlong destroyed my Eternal Log Pose. It was the _only_ thing that could get me home, and now I have to go back the long way."

"Yea, sucks to be you. But that does not explain why you have four humans following you." Nami crossed her arms across her somewhat impressive chest in annoyance.

"Well the swordsman of my crew," Yea he said crew, it was much easier to say than whatever bullshit would Naruto could come up with at the moment. "Yes the blond guy talking with the green-haired one, I picked him up on an island full of butchered Marines."

"Say what!?" Luffy nearly gagged on his gigantic chicken leg when he heard that.

"Yea, he...or his other self killed them, and attacked me. We were attacked by Marines and we eliminated them all." Naruto shrugged off their shocked looks. "After killing them, he joined up with me out of necessity. Then there is Bashura," He pointed at his savage-looking navigator. "He was the second guy that joined me. We were about to land on the Gecko Islands when were were attacked, by all people, the supposedly late Captain Kuro of the Black Cat Pirates."

Again Luffy nearly choked on his food, this time it was a whole ham he shoved down his throat. "Captain Kuro!? I cannot believe he returned there."

"Are you serious?" Naruto's face practically screamed 'Are you fucking kidding me?'. Unfortunately for him, Luffy was very serious, and so was Nami apparently. "Yea, my navigator used to be apart of his crew. The guy hid in the _Bezan Black _when you kicked Kuro's ass, but apparently Kuro is one hell of a sore loser. Bashura told me that he came back to massacre the entire island. I killed him instead after he wiped out his entire crew."

"You killed Kuro?" Nami's eyes widened in surprise. Luffy had a tough time beating the quick-footed pirate Captain, and all he was able to do was knock him out, and send him on his way.

"I snapped his neck after Bashura broke his back, and burned the body afterwards." Naruto took another drink, completely ignoring Luffy's outraged look. "You got a problem there straw hat?"

"Killing Kuro was completely unnecessary." Luffy said, almost if he was pointing out an obvious fact.

"What I did was completely necessary. Did you not consider that he would _not_ come back? With you gone the island was defenseless, and easy pickings to a monster like him." The fishman got up and poked Luffy's fat belly. "You would have indirectly caused all their deaths by _not_ killing that man in the first place, you fucking little marshmallow!"

Before Luffy could shout, or swing in his defense, Nami clasped Naruto's wrist with her hand. "Do not poke my Captain, I do not care if you're right or not. But keep your mitts off of him."

Naruto yanked his wrist out of her grasp, almost like he was burned. "As for Gin," He continued, pushing the confrontational from his thoughts. "We found him half-dead in a lifeboat from a bad case of poison, and a very pissed off Don Krieg sailing after him in a God damn Man-of-War Marine battleship. Thankfully, Gin used his voice to knock them all out, and knocked Krieg's ass out with those tonfa's of his." Naruto stopped to finish off his drink, "After starving him, and leaving him starving and in pain for two whole days, I dropped him and Arlong's head off at the Marine Base in Loguetown. Got a neat thirty-one million beli in after some deductions for Arlong being dead and all."

When the word 'money' sprang from Naruto's mouth, Nami's eyes lit up with beli dollars. "You got Krieg's bounty? He was probably weakened thanks to Luffy, so-"

"I'm not giving you any of my hard-earned money." Naruto immediately cut the former thief off, "It is not mine to give," He pointed his thumb behind him towards Gin laughing at Sanji getting a face full of Carmen's iron fan. "If you took all that cotton out of your ears, you would have heard me say Gin beat Krieg's ass. Idiot, half of it's rightfully his." Finding himself losing his appetite Naruto removed himself from the table.

"Hey wait a minute-" Nami's eyes widened when the blond turned towards her, his glaring blue eyes sent shivers down her spine.

"I'm done talking with you. Enjoy the party." Naruto left the tavern without another word.

Once he shut the door, Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out the lone cigar he brought with him to land. Placing it between his lips, he lit the end of it with one of his matches, and inhaled. Immediately, his frenzied nerves began to calm themselves, and he let out a sigh of relief.

For the next hour he stayed out there, letting his blood cool, and his temper deflate. The meeting up with the Straw Hat Pirates was completely unexpected, Naruto honestly did not expect to meet up with the rude orange-haired woman ever again, or Luffy after he backhanded him in her hometown. Quite honestly, the tiger shark fishman did not know what to make of that crew. The green-haired swordsman looked like he could handle himself, he killed people before that's for sure, the blond that was chatting up with First Mate and chef; also a powerful fighter, but him killing someone was questionable at best. Then there was the long-nosed liar, he was all bark and no bite, he fully expected him to die in the Grand Line. Nami...was a mystery, she stole lots of money and other valuables, but he seriously doubted she was a stealer of lives. And then there was that Luffy character, he seemed to be strong; after all he got back up from a hit that could turn a human head into jelly, but he was an ignorant idiot. How he was a Captain of anything was a mystery to him.

All in all he viewed the Straw Hats as mild annoyances, and gave them a fifty-fifty chance of surviving the Grand Line.

After letting the cigar burn all the way to the stub, the blond tossed it to the side and leaned against the wooden walls of the tavern. They were going to spend the night here, stock up on a thing or two if possible, and then leave for the next island at the earliest time possible. The noise of the laughter from the occupants literally caused Naruto to propel off the walls with a wide-eyes expression. Good God, what were they doing in there to cause so much noise?

Before he could make it to the door, he heard a slight gasp that caused him to turn on his heels, and readied himself to attack. However before he could form a droplet of water for his Water Shot, Naruto stopped dead cold in his tracks.

Standing ten feet away was a woman was wearing a light blue long-sleeved jacket with white fur along the collar, a pair of white short shorts that went past mid thigh, an emerald belt around her slim waist, and a pair of white high heel boots. The top she wore was highly unusual, along the stomach and breasts were circle patterns. What he noticed most about her was her long wavy blue hair pulled back into a long ponytail, and gray eyes. She looked awfully familiar, almost like he caught a glimpse of her face ages ago.

"Son of a bitch." Naruto swore out loud. Add six or seven years, plus puberty going well for you, add in a slender body, prominent large breasts, and a air of royalty around her, then you had...no freaking way.

Upon spotting him the young woman's eyes widened, and she ran as fast as she could. Naruto, delayed a few seconds by her sudden departure immediately bolted after her. The mystery woman ducked into a building, slamming the door shut. At first Naruto stopped and twisted the doorknob, only to find it locked. Sighing in irritation he kicked it open, the door broke off its hinges easily, only to reveal the woman was not inside.

Naruto noticed that the window was left wide open and immediately dove out of it. Rolling twice until he stood upon his feet, the blond fishman captured a brief glimpse of blue hair out of the corner of his eyes. Immediately turning to his right he pumped his leg muscles hard, leaping a solid ten feet. When he reached the corner of the building he was met with the woman's retreating figure climbing one of the largest buildings, jumping and flipping at a speed that was acquired through years of practice.

"You're a fast one, ain't ya?" Naruto said to himself, impressed that this woman was unusually fast, and dexterous. "But while good, you cannot outdo a fishman." Taking a deep breath Naruto sprinted through the street, upon reaching the building he jumped ten feet into the air, and latched his fingers into the stone foundation. No, he did not catch the ledges of the stonework, his fingers _penetrated _the stone like a hot knife through butter.

Through the intense practice of Fishman Karate, Naruto's fingers were a tough as steel, practically like fishhooks that separated the warriors of Fishman Island from the civilians. Using nothing but pure arm strength, the blond climbed up the building until he reached the top. Arriving just in time to see the mystery woman gracefully leap from the edge, and landed on a roof top without batting an eyelash. Naruto easily followed her, bracing himself for impact, and to roll to lessen the shock on his legs.

Too bad he overestimated the integrity of the roof. Naruto landed on the roof, and it immediately caved in under him, sending him crashing into what looked to be a kitchen of someone home.

"Son of a bitch!" Naruto pulled himself up from what used to be a table. He brought his right hand to his dorsal fine, and tenderly rubbed it. "Fucking ow! That woman is so going to pay for this!" He meant the figuratively, and literally. There was no way in hell he was going to pay for the damage he caused to this house.

After opening the door to the empty house, Naruto barely caught sight of the woman's blue hair when she hopped over another room and ran across a thick wire. Again, he found himself impressed at the woman's speed and dexterity. "You may have your fancy moves, but that will not stop me!" Naruto yelled after her. Bending forwards he sprinted towards the houses she was running over, moving his forearms up to cover his face, the fishman busted through the walls of the first house, and then the second house...and then the third house, finally when he passed through the fourth house he caught the woman jumping onto the roof of the fifth house.

Jumping ten feet in the air, Naruto dug his fingers into the the wooden walls once again and climbed his way onto the roof. Immediately he ducked his head when he heard a _whooshing _sound, it saved him from getting scalped, but not a few strands of blond hair that fell to the street. He knew the woman was trying to force him to pop his head up, or stall long enough for her to flee again.

"Not on my watch." Looking down Naruto saw an open window to the top floor of this building. "How fortunate for me." It was odd that the buildings he busted through had been completely empty, and apparently this one was as empty as all of them. Again how strange. But that did not deter him from swinging into the room.

After rolling to reduce the impact, and getting to his feet Naruto strained his ears to hear if the mysterious woman was on the roof. The sound between the wood was faint, but he could still hear the _whooshing_ sound of whatever she was wielding. Keeping quiet as remotely possible Naruto positioned himself underneath what he thought she was standing, and jumped upwards. His hands burst through the roof, and he somehow managed to grab onto what felt like soft leather, and used his natural weight as gravity.

The roof the woman was standing over gave out, causing her to come crashing down into the fishman's arms. She felt him move his arms tightly around her torso, and braced himself when they both hit the floor. Like the roof it could not handle the combined weight of two people crashing down upon it, and they fell onto the last floor of the house. But instead of landing on a table, the two of them landed on a bed. Of course the force of them landing on it broke the mattress from the supports, and the woman ended up straddling him when he let his arms go...lets just say it was a very awkward position for the both of them.

It did not help that the mystery woman moved her waist and pushed on Naruto's chest to try and move off of him. Nor did it help that Naruto moved his hands to her shoulders, tightly gripping her to keep her stark still so she could not escape. Again, it was so awkward that the both of them began to get a twinge of pink on their cheeks.

"All right, enough running already." Naruto said through gritted teeth. This was a first for him is all respects of this messed up situation. "I know who you are, you may not look the age, but you're that girl from the Mariejois meeting nearly six years ago."

"You're mistaken, I've lived here all my life." The woman continued to twist her body, and failed to try and escape from his iron grip. "I was never in this Mariejois place, I was out killing a whale six years ago!"

Naruto's grip on her shoulders only tightened until she ceased her struggling. It was not enough to hurt her, it was just a warning that he could do much worse than a simple squeeze. "Don't bullshit me lady. I have no idea how you got yourself to look like you're in your thirties, but there is no way I can mistake you for anyone else."

"Well you are-" She looked into Naruto's eyes, and she knew that there was no use hiding it any longer. Her cover was blown, by some one she never thought she would ever see again. "So you're the fishman who save my life from Wapol."

"I remember kicking a fat pistol-wielding asshole in the back of the head." Naruto said, his sharp teeth flashing at that awesome memory.

"I never thought I would see you again." The woman said with a smile full of gratitude, no longer lying she opened up a little bit, but kept her guard up. "I always wondered who my hero was that day. Thank you, um," She turned her head to the side, embarrassed, "What is your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto said.

"I'm Nefertari Vivi." Vivi introduced herself.

"The only child to Nefertari Cobra?" While Naruto didn't know much about the nobles from the revere all those years ago, he did remember Jinbe telling him about the noble family from Alabasta. He thought the whale shark fishman was exaggerating a bit, but...well they were better than the World Nobles, that's just something he figured to be impossible, but Vivi...well she did not call him a fish or try to enslave him.

"The very same." The blue-haired princess said, "I'm sorry about running, and attacking you. I just could not get discovered...not yet."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's, a complicated matter. I'm sorry, but it's important that the fewer the people know, the better."

"I see..." Actually he didn't, Naruto knew that she was hiding something important. "So, enjoying your seat?"

Vivi's face flushed a little brighter, and she moved off of his lap. She brushed her left hand on her jacket sleeves to wipe away the dust she accumulated from their fall together. Naruto noticed that a wire was hanging off her left pinkie finger, and dangling from it was a sharpened sapphire that resembled a peacock's tails feather. Huh, so that was what nearly scalped him.

Getting off the broken bed, looking a little more ruffled that he would have liked, Naruto looked over towards Vivi, just to make sure she wasn't too injured. He was rewarded with her flicking him in the forehead. The blond blinked several times, his mind processing exactly what the fuck just happened. "The hell was that for?"

"I'm not in my thirties mister Uzumaki, I'm sixteen." Vivi huffed, highly offended by such a guess to her age.

"You could have fooled me." Naruto rubbed his forehead, he wasn't even mad about that, after all Madam Shyarly unleashed a can of whoopass several times when customers or workers did anything rude or swore in her presence. Hell, he remembered when one of Hody's men came back like he aged thirty years because he guessed her to much older despite her still having a tail, but then again that guy was constantly wasted, and not the brightest anyhow.

"Some makeup and pulling my hair back can do wonders for disguising oneself." The princess of Alabasta said. "I don't wish to be rude, but you need to get out of here. You and your friends back at the tavern."

"They aren't my friends." Naruto rebutted a little too harshly, "They are just a bunch of hitchhikers that I picked up due to crap being out of my control. And that Straw Hat kid is no associate of mine."

Vivi had to visibly fight from flinching at the harshness of his words. Again it reminded her of what she saw during the Reverie after he knocked out Wapol when she looked into his eyes. She saw the uncontrollable anger, and great sadness, and bitterness that kept her up at nights; guessing what would cause someone only two years her senior to have eyes like that.

Those emotions were still there. The anger was maintained by strict discipline, but ready to be unleashed at anytime. The sadness had dulled but the aches could still be seen, and even now when when he looked at her he saw the bitterness increasing, yet it was restrained by something she could not identify.

Vivi mentally shook the thoughts from her mind. "Irregardless, the food and drink the townsfolk served you were laced with a sleeping poison. It's slow acting, but when it takes hold you're out for nearly forty-eight hours."

"What?" That could not have been good for anyone in his party. He personally drank three mugs of rum, and five plates of meat and vegetables, and three fourths of his last one before Nami and Luffy ruined his appetite, personally he felt fine, no drowsiness whatsoever. "They poisoned us? Why the hell would they do that for?"

"Whiskey Peak is full of experienced bounty hunters." Vivi said nervously, "This place has captured many pirates starting out on the Grand Line, and have turned them in to the World Government numerous times. In fact we were after the Captain of the crew that arrived before you."

"Well good luck with that. That straw hat kid looks like an easy catch."

"Straw hat? You mean the green-haired swordsman isn't the Captain?"

"No he isn't, and the only reason I know this is because I was bitched out by their orange-haired thief for grabbing that gluttonous idiot." It honestly surprised him that he already had a crew of four people. But then again it could be the same for him. "Yea I don't believe it either."

"I see." Well that was certainly a surprise, but then again they did not receive the current wanted posters this week, so it was a wild guess for all of them. "And what about you? Are you a pirate?"

"I don't have a Jolly Roger," Naruto said, that meant something didn't it? "So, I guess I ain't one. But just to be safe, I'll get those guys and leave this place asap."

Vivi sighed in relief, but before she could reply, the sounds of powerful explosions was heard a mile away. "Oh no, something is not right!"

* * *

><p>(With Zoro, and Naruto's crew-Around the same time)<p>

"Ahh!"

"That's what you get for attacking us!" Both Kotetsu and Zoro bellowed at the unconscious nun and small child what tried to kill them.

It was complete pandemonium in Whiskey Peak. Barely a few hours ago both crews were partying like there was no tomorrow, but during their conversation Zoro confided in him that something was off about this place, and after some careful drinking the two were not caught unaware when the bounty hunters pounced on them.

Were they a bit drowsy? Yes, yes they were. But they were better than Usopp, Sanji, Luffy, and Gin; and only because the latter kept himself awake with his coughing fits.

Both Carmen and Bashura were up and kicking. The Explanations for why were simple for Carmen, she did not eat or drink anything that was either supervised or made by her. Bashura however was a mystery, the savage-looking man ate and drank everything that was handed to him without any complaint, and a gigantic smile on his face to boot! He should have been knocked unconscious with the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates, but instead he was gleefully punching people into unconsciousness with his meaty hands.

"Man what a clusterfuck this is." Kotetsu sighed tiredly. Sweat was dribbling down his forehead, and he wiped it away before slapping himself to stay awake.

"Shoulda drank more carefully." Zoro responded in a neutral tone. Unlike his fellow swordsman he showed no hint of exhaustion.

"I doesn't help that I'm not much of a drinker anyhow." The sandy-haired teen slapped himself again. It somewhat worked when he felt a small burst of energy course through his body.

"Pfft. Lightweight."

"Enough with the jibber jabber. Do you think we got them all?" Bashura dropped his latest punching bag onto the hard ground.

It sure looked like it, nearly one-hundred people were knocked unconscious from the combined assault of the three men. The three deliberately tried not to kill anyone in the town, mainly because it looked like they were after Luffy's bounty, and when they saw Gin they went after them as well. It was how they earned their livelihood, and killing someone who was just trying to earn their pay did not suit well with the three of them.

...That however did not mean that they would go easy on them, seriously fuck that.

"Yes I think so," Zoro scratched hte back of head irritably. "Did your two crew mates get away?"

"Yes, Carmen and Gin thankfully escaped after the initial confusion." Those two worried Bashura the greatest. While Gin was remarkably strong, he was not in the best shape. One slip up was all it could take to put you in the ground, and unfortunately Gin's coughing was so erratic that he probably would not have made it during this fight. Carmen was an unknown to them all. While a great cook, it did not look like she could engage in combat and come out uninjured.

He would have to ask Naruto to have her demonstrate something other than cooking when they got out of this.

The sound of someone clapping disrupted their minor reprieve. The person clapping was a middle aged man donned with long red hair with a crown on top of his head, and the number nine painted on his cheeks. He wore green royal clothes along with an ornate red scarf.

Standing next to him was a tall, muscular woman with dark skin and pink hair pulled into short twin-tails. She wore a short dress with a magenta and white diamond pattern, and three green flowers holding it together, and white boots that went to the middle of her shins. Grasped in her right hand was a large club, and firmly placed on her knuckles were a pair of brass knuckles.

And standing in front of them was the Mayor of the town, firmly clasped in his hands was his saxophone. "I see you're no ordinary pirates. To think that Baroque Works's agents could be defeated so easily." Igarappoi sighed in dissatisfaction. "But then again, the twenty-five million beli bounty on your head proves how dangerous you are "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy."

Zoro sweatdropped at the lack of the guy's information. That was just sad. "I'm not Luffy, he's the guy that could not stop stuffing his face with meat. Is this what Baroque Work's fallen to these days? Lousy information and pirate capture?"

The man in the royal clothing narrowed his eyebrows. "What do you know of our organization?"

"I know that a good lot of you are bounty hunters, and you have done several operations throughout the world." Zoro scratched his head as if trying to recall something. "The only reason I know about you guys was from a guy who called himself Mr. 7. Apparently he came the the East Blue to recruit me into your ranks, and I agreed on the conditions that I would be the boss." The green-haired swordsman shook his head. "The damn fool got so mad that he attacked me, and I took his head off in response."

"That certainly explains the new Mr. 7." The muscular woman commented, her voice was surprisingly a soft high-pitched voice more commonly associated with small, frail girls. Seriously that was weird, she was the tallest, and most muscular woman they had seen in their entire lives. "Irregardless, we're going to take you down."

"I don't think so." Kotetsu twirled his blades three times and settled into a loose stance.

"I like it when they fight." The royal-looking man exclaimed brandishing two steel bats in his hands. "I am Mr. 9 of the Baroque Work's organization. Prepare yourselves!"

Zoro made a move to engage him, but Kotetsu cheated by activating his devil fruit power, and flashed in front of Mr. 9. However instead of engaging him sword to bat, Kotetsu's right leg flew up, and nailed him right in the sternum. "Stay down!" Was the sandy-haired teens battle cry as he sent Mr. 9 flying into a wall.

"Really? A kick?" Zoro deadpanned.

"I'm not going to bash my swords against steel bats. That's just stupid." Kotetsu said as he looked at Mr. 9's unconscious form. "Bashura however...well, let him have his fun."

Turning to where the savage-looking navigator was fighting, Zoro sweatdropped when he saw the man leaping and dodging acrobatically against his two opponents.

"Igarappa!" The man who revealed himself to be Mr. 8 attacked using his saxophone. When he played it, the beautiful melody the saxophone filled the air, and then it fired out a blast of bullets like a giant shotgun. Bashura easily managed to jump over it with cat-like grace, and rebounded towards the Baroque Works agent, who dropped his saxophone and pulled on the loops of his necktie with his thumbs. "Igarappappa!" Gun barrels hidden in the curls of his hair extended outwards, and fired explosive bullets.

"Not good enough!" Flexing his right fingers into like he had claws, Bashura bent his muscular body into unnatural angles like that of a cat. He dodged the bullets, the projectiles missing his flesh by mere inches, and when the bullets impacted the wall, he used the explosion the rocket towards Mr. 8. Swinging his muscular arm Bashura nailed his opponent right in the face, and sent them both to the ground with bone jarring force.

After burying Mr. 8's head into the ground, Bashura brought his thick forearms up to block a savage club strike. After Miss Monday's club broke in half she began to pummel his forearms with her duel Superhuman Knuckle-duster technique. Bashura took it with determination, his face barely wincing when his skin started forming purple bruises. The muscular woman delivered the devastating punches until her body was sweating buckets, her face red from the lack of air, until finally she could not lift her arms anymore. Her energy was completely spent.

"Is that all?" Bashura lowered his arms in disappointment. His yellow eyes glaring into Miss Monday's black ones. "A woman of your size, and muscle mass should have delivered bone shattering punches." He clenched his right fist tightly until his knuckles turned white. It honestly disgusted him that a woman who's body mass was exactly like his delivered such weak punches, and with tools to help deliver them no less!

"This is how you deliver a punch!" Raising his right arm, the Catman delivered a powerful sucker punch to the muscular woman's face, and sent her straight into la la land.

"You all right Bashura?" Kotetsu asked with a raised eyebrow. Up until now he never seen his cheery navigator get so worked up, or so disappointed before.

"I will be fine, crew mate Kotetsu." Bashura answered in a slight huff as he rubbed his arms. "Just, find me some rope."

Zoro rolled his eyes at the two and grumbled under his breath. Seriously why did they have to have all the fun?

After five minutes the three agents regained consciousness. They were battered and bruised, and tied up, but they were still alive and kicking. The three glared at their captors, and that was all they could do.

"All right your three, start talking. I want to know everything about this...Baroque Works organization of yours." Kotetsu demanded the three. His right hand resting on the hilt of Nidai Kitetsu's hilt.

"Like we would ever say anything!" Miss Monday said through harshly clenched teeth.

"We may have been defeated, but the joke's on you pal, we ain't through. Not by a long shot!" Mr. 9 exclaimed through a bloody smile.

Mr. 8 however was silent, his blood dripping down his face through the top of his head slowly making a small puddle on the ground. To his captors he seemed completely unconcerned with his own safety, instead he seemed to have been worried about something, or perhaps someone else.

"I do not think we will get anything from them." Bashura stroked his tattooed chin thoughtfully. "Far too stubborn."

"Is that Log Pose of yours done with its whole reset thing?" Kotetsu asked.

"A few hours ago it did."

"Then lets get out of here."

"Just like that?" Zoro raised an eyebrow. "You're just going to up and leave after getting attacked."

"I rather not spill anymore blood, or cause anymore violence." Kotetsu said in defense to his reasoning. "Sometimes it's just better to leave when you've got the chance."

"Well, you're not going to get that chance cutie." A female above them said with a lighthearted laugh.

Craning their heads upwards, the trio and prisoners looked to see a smiling, highly attractive woman standing on the rooftops. She was a short, pale woman with short blond hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a yellow and orange hat, as well as a yellow dress with a lemon-like pattern, lemon earrings, and white high-heeled shoes. Clutched in her yellow gloved hands was a bright green parasol with blue stripes.

Her partner was a tall, dark-skinned man with black hair in short spiky dreadlocks. He wore a brown trench coat with a the number five embroidered on it, a pink cravat and a pair of sunglasses. Currently he was picking his nose with his right pinkie finger.

"Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine!" Mr. 8 shouted in disbelief.

"So the boss sent back up. Good!" Miss Monday exclaimed with glee.

"Na, we aren't here for you chumps." Mr. 5 said coolly while he rooted the inside of his nostril. "In fact we're here for another reason. One of you losers knows the boss' secret. And you all know we aren't supposed to know each others names, pasts, or nothin'. These people are on the island, and they are of the royal kind."

Mr. 9 began to profusely sweat. "It's not me! This crown is a fake!"

"Kyhaha! Oh that we know about," Miss Valentine giggled. "The people we're looking for disappeared from Alabasta two years ago. And guess who joined the organization around that time?"

Mr. 9 and Miss Monday turned towards Mr. 8, who by now was sweating bullets.

"You guessed it." Mr. 5 pulled a good sized booger from his nose, and rolled it between his thumb and index fingers. "And here is the kicker, they are none other than Igaram, the leader of the Royal Guard of Alabasta." He began to chuckle before announcing the next name. "And Nefertari Vivi, the Princess and sole heir of Alabasta."

"What?" Kotetsu's eyes widened when he looked at the exposed Igaram.

"Royalty? Oh my." Bashura whispered to himself.

Zoro only raised an eyebrow in response. This was unusual even for him.

"Zoro!" The trio looked over to see a still very fat Luffy stomping over towards them, and man did he look mad. "What is the idea of beating the snot out of the people who gave us food huh!" To them it was obvious that Luffy was not getting the picture. "That is not how we repay the kindness of strangers!"

Zoro palmed his head with an audible smack. _'Can this not get any worse?'_

At that very same moment, Mr. 5 dropped his booger from the roof, and they were all engulfed in a large explosion.

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Well ere is the next chapter folks! Now if you're wondering why I've been updating Spiraling Shark like crazy, and I know a good lot of yo aren't, I'll tell you the simple reason. I have been having pirates on my mind of months now thanks to Assassins Creed Black Flag coming out, and now that I have it...well PIRATES. I can now plunder from the greedy, with my blood and my steel, and rob the rich of their ill gotten gains and make them kneel! And if you know where I got that from, then props to you...and I don't own it. Seriously I respect the guy who made it far too much to blatantly steal it.<p>

So with my peace said, I leave you with this new chapter and I go back to playing Black Flag. Wooo!

Lt. Doom:...Yea folks, Armageddon has gone into game mode, and when he gets like that he won't stop until he finishes something. So, I guess late folks. And wait for the next update from one of his other stories...or this one, whichever one that sparks his fancy.

Pvt. Liquor: You all heard the Lieutenant, as for me I'm off to get me some rum and some booty of both kinds!

Lt. Doom: You are staying at the base right here Private!

Pvt. Liquor: *rips off his military uniform to reveal a full stereotypical pirate outfit with a already half-drunk bottle of rum* Arr me hearties, there is no Private Liquor. Yer talking to Marcus "Booze Hound" McDagertooth! And I will find One Piece and rule the seas bahaha!

Lt. Doom: Dammit Private get back here!

Pvt. Liquor: NEVER!

Lt. Doom: Dammit Liquor!


	12. The start of a new quest!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. Honestly folks, you should know me by now, I would be sending messages all over the world and like Hideo Kojima and make everyone watch as I swim in an Olympic pool full of money. I know you do that Kojima! You do it and laugh as you make us cry and feel over you games you sick, brilliant bastard!

"Talk" Talking

'_Think_' Thinking

* * *

><p><em>I was six years old when I lost my parents. As you know a six year old did not know how to manage money, let alone know what an income was. I remember money being somewhat tight, but we lived happy lives. However, after losing them I lost my home and wound up in the Fishman District.<br>_

_If you want to describe hell then this place was it. I learned at a young age that you either fight or die. I did...things that no one should ever had to do. I beat kids up and took what little belongings they had, I was a drug mule a times, and even was asked to do some enforcement duties. But the worst of all I was thrown into The Pit, a cage fighting arena where fishmen and mermen bet of who would beat the crap out of each other...I won, barely at times, but I got money and food. Just enough to survive._

_I did that for two years, until Madame Shyarly; one of the nicest, and scariest mermaids you would ever meet saved me from that life. I just dropped off a 'package', and walked by the Mermaid Cove, a was 'abducted' by the playful mermaids. They treated me like I was a stuffed animal, hugging me and coddling me, all of them claiming how cute I was. Madame Shyarly soon joined in, and asked me where my parents were._

_...So I told them my story, but left out many of the horrors I went through. Apparently my story touched them all profoundly and I was given a job at the Mermaid Cafe. To this day I have been the _only_ fishman to ever work there. I was paid in money and food, and if a mermaid got playful enough a kiss on the cheek. Man, were those some good times._

_I worked there for six months, but on a warm July morning, my life changed yet again. It was for the better...and the worst. I just did not know it yet.  
><em>

* * *

><p>The explosion from Mr. 5's booger bomb would have killed lesser people. Unlucky for him, the people they were dealing with were not your average people. Demonstrating extraordinary speed, Bashura grabbed the bound forms of Mr. 9, Miss Monday, and Igaram before leaping away from the area. Kotetsu, seeing the danger of a potential devil fruit-user drew upon the ability of the Flash-Flash Fruit, and fled from the area, leaving the afterimage of himself.<p>

But for Zoro and Luffy, the Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates disregarding the danger of the situation attacked the First Mate of his crew. His gigantic size hit the green-haired swordsman square on, causing them both the fly through the wall of the building Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine were standing on.

"Kyhaha! You missed them Mr. 5, are you getting rusty?" Miss Valentine laughed at her partner.

"Not in the least." Mr. 5 huffed in annoyance. With a single step he walked right off the roof of the building, landing square on his feet without and repercussions. "They are just rats scurrying away."

"Rats are we?!" Bashura's offended voice boomed over the area. Turning to the side, Mr. 5 saw the savage-looking man rise out of some rubble with his prisoners slung over his shoulder. "I will make you pay for that insult, and the attempted murder of your comrades!"

"Yea! What the hell Mr. 5?" Mr. 9 exclaimed indignantly. "We're on the same team!"

"No, you aren't." The dark-skinned man picked his nose with his pinkie finger, "Unlike me and my partner, you Frontier Agents are expendable." He aimed at them, his Booger Bomb placed in-between his thumb and index finger. Without another word, he flicked them at them with lightning fast speed.

Instead of hitting them, Kotetsu flashed in front of the deadly projectile, and cut it in half with Nidai Kitetsu. After being cut, the booger exploded, ruffling Kotetsu's tan hoodie, but leaving him relatively unharmed. "Try that again, I dare you!" The sandy-haired teen hissed out.

"'Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu, my, my, isn't this a surprise." Miss Valentine giggled. Jumping from the roof, the petite woman opened her umbrella, and literally floated down to her partner. "I never imagined to meet you here of all places."

"Believe it." The swordsman said, his pale gray eyes narrowed at the two devil fruit-users. Honestly, he would had to have been an idiot to not know they weren't. "Bashura, you should take those three and get out of here."

"What about you? You're not at one-hundred percent."

"I can handle it." Kotetsu said, ignoring the sweat falling from his body. The sleeping poison was starting to get to him, and no matter what he did, he found himself weakening by the second. "Just go!"

Before Bashura could do anything, or Kotetsu could attack, or even the Officer Agents could do anything. The form giant body of Monkey D. Luffy flew from the building he tackled Zoro in, collided into the backs of Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine. That caused a chain reaction of them flying into Kotetsu, which made him fly into Bashura carrying their prisoners, and all seven bodies flew into one direction all jumbled together.

Damn, who knew a fat Luffy could cause so much chaos?

(Meanwhile with Naruto and Vivi)

As the two walked out of the damaged house, the both of them were greeted with the tangled bodies of seven people colliding into the building next to them, completely collapsing it upon them, and causing the blond Fishman to sweat-drop.

"What the hell was that?" He asked Vivi.

"I-I do not know," Vivi sweated lightly. She only saw the jumble of bodies for a second, but she could have sworn she saw her partner and Igaram in that pile. But that was impossible, there was no sense in that happening.

The first people to emerge from the pile was an unbounded Igaram, his suit torn, and his face bloodied from his fight and the crash. He coughed out harshly and looked over at Vivi. His eyes widened with relief seeing that she was okay, but alarmed that she was so close to Naruto. Before he could make his way towards them, he was harshly struck by a dainty fist, and sent crashing into another building.

Kotetsu came flying out with explosive force. The front end of him was torn up like he was hit with a stick of dynamite Naruto saw he lost no flesh or muscle, but his jacket and shirt were absolutely ruined with blackened soot and tattered to hell. He winced as the teenager slid on the hard ground leaving an impression before hitting a pole.

Three more people flew from the pile. But instead of flying out like the previous two, a royal-looking guy, and a muscular woman were clutched in the arms of Bashura. The giant man tumbled upon landing, huffing and panting in exhaustion before glaring at the pile of splintered rubble.

Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine soon emerged. Both were scuffed up from the tumble, and the woman lost her hat, but they were relatively unharmed. And they did not look even remotely happy.

"That was, unexpected." Mr. 5 pushed his sunglasses up his face in annoyance. He then looked over towards Vivi, his face soon twisting into a smirk. "But what luck. We found our target Miss Valentine."

"Kyhaha! You're right!" The yellow-clad woman brushed the dirt from her blond hair, and pointed her umbrella at Vivi. "Your ticket is up Nefertari Vivi."

"What the fuck did you do!?" Naruto demanded from the princess. He felt his blood boiling in anger at seeing his two...crew mates injured. That single action brought back bad memories of his encounter with Saint Mjosgard, and his malicious behavior the day his ship crashed on Fishman Island.

"None of your business fish-boy." Mr. 5 picked two boogers out of his nose, and aimed them both at Vivi. "Dead men tell no tales." He flicked them at lightening fast speeds, the Double Booger Bombs aiming to turn the heiress of Alabasta into a dismembered corpse.

But in an unexpected event Naruto intervened, just like the day six years ago he stopped Vivi from getting struck by a bullet. But instead of kicking someone in the head, the tiger shark fishman jumped in front of her, crossed his arms to protect his face, and took the full brunt of the explosives with his body. The force of the impact caused him to bite down harshly on his sharp teeth, but he did not fly back, nor did he fall to his knees. He stayed defiant and stood on his own two feet despite getting blown up.

Mr. 5 only scoffed in reply to Naruto's bravery. Before he could dig for more exploding boogers, he was blindsided by a baseball bat of all things. The Officer Agent looked in disgust when he was Mr. 9 glaring at him. "You dare strike your superior?"

"You are _not_ my superior!" Mr. 9 barked at the devil fruit-user. "After nearly killing me, consider this my resignation!" The royal-looking man screamed at his former superior as he swung his bat once again. Instead he was hit right in the stomach and launched through several building's by an explosive punch and out of sight.

"Heh, then I won't feel guilty about ending you then." Mr. 5 smirked before pulling out something completely unexpected from his coat. It turned out to be a flintlock .44 caliber six shot revolver, a new model pistol from the South Blue. Cracking it open, he breathed into the empty chambers with is breath before snapping it closed. "Be honored fools, I don't bring this baby out unless it's for a tough situation."

"I will not allow it! Igarappappa!" Igaram emerged from the building he crashed into and pulled on the strings to his necktie. Familiar gun barrels hidden in the curls of his hair, then pulling the loops of his necktie he fired the explosive bullets. They hit Mr. 5 with full force, but he was completely unaffected in the aftermath of the attack.

"You fool. I ate the Bomb-Bomb Fruit, explosions are useless on me!" He quickly aimed his pistol and fired three rapid shots into the Captain of the Royal Guard, sending him fully back into he house, and shooting three more times, the building collapsed onto them man.

"Igaram!" Vivi screamed in shock.

Miss Monday took advantage of Mr. 5 reloading to attack him with her Superhuman Brass Knuckles technique, but it was blocked by an umbrella of all things. The muscular woman's blood stopped cold when she saw the smiling face of Miss Valentine.

"Looks like you're a traitor as well." The blond-haired woman smiled at the muscular woman. Drawing on the power of her devil fruit, she increased the weight of her legs and kicked the former Frontier Agent in-between the legs and sent her flying into the sky. When Mr. 5 reloaded his pistol he shot at the ground where his partner was, and she used the explosive force to activate her devil fruit to lighten her weight to one kilogram.

The blond agent flew upwards, past the ascending Miss Monday. Then getting at the right angle, the woman giggled and gradually increased her weight to ten-thousand kilograms as she fell towards the earth. She landed on Miss Monday's back, and with the heavy weight they both crashed into the earth, creating a minor earthquake in the process.

"Monsters, they're pure monsters." Naruto growled out. The way they devastated their comrades, it reminded him of the stories Hody told him. Of the World Nobles inflicting pain upon their kind for nothing more than their own amusement, or reasons that were so petty that it made him physically ill. The tiger shark fishman spat to the side and cracked his knuckles and began the process of walking over to the two standing agents.

"Naruto, wait! You cannot fight them." Vivi called out.

"Just watch me, no one pulls a fast one one me and gets away with it."

"But you're injured!"

"Tis is nothing more than a flesh would."(1) Naruto scoffed as he looked at the state of his arms. The bandages for his right one were gone, and both forearms were covered in burns, blackened flesh, and bleeding from multiple places. They hurt like hell, but that would not stop him from opening a can of whoop-ass on them.

Before the blond could continue further, a thick tattooed arm blocked him from proceeding. "Cap'n, let me deal with these two." Bashura said. Before Naruto could refuse, the giant man turned his head, and showed his glaring yellow eyes. Naruto knew that look, it was one of one that wished to deal out pain to those who dealt with injustice.

"All right, kick their asses Bashura." Naruto said, gesturing him to go all out.

"This guy?" Mr. 5 scoffed in response to Naruto's gesturing. "Sure, he looks scary but trash is just that. Trash! Just like those two worthless agents!"

Bashura only gave the two a feral grin, and in the blink of an eye, he drew on the power of his devil fruit. And then he morphed into the ten foot tall, black-furred, six-hundred pounds of raking claws, black panther! He let out a loud wild cat howl and falling on all fours sprinted at the Officer Agents.

Mr. 5's arrogant stance, and Miss Valentine's face faltered seeing something so terrifying. They themselves had dealt with Zoan devil fruit users before, but nothing to this extent.

Mr. 5 raised his pistol and fired off his remaining five shots. His hopes of hitting him were dashed when when the giant panther twisted and bent like a cat, and dodged every single one of his invisible exploding bullets. Miss Valentine got in the way, weighing her entire body to ten-thousand kilo's to stop the navigator in his tracks.

Bashura hit her head on. His meaty right hand hit her square in the right side of her body, and sent her to the side leaving Mr. 5 completely exposed to the catman's rage. "Savage Strike!" Bashura hollered loudly. Crossing both his forearms, Bashura slashed across Mr. 5's body, leaving eight bloody cuts trailing down from his shoulders to his hips.

Mr. 5 cried out in agony as he felt flesh and muscle torn asunder. But that didn't stop him from lashing out with a kick that detonated upon impact to Bashura's ribs. That only caused the giant panther to grab his leg in response. One squeeze of his hand, he broke Mr. 5's right leg like a dry twig, and to add insult to injury he threw him into one of the remaining building's withing the area, collapsing it on top of him.

Bashura then turned towards Miss Valentine, looking worse for wear and trembling in her white high-heeled shoes. The Zoan-user snorted and strutted towards her, yellow eyes piercing her soul. They paralyzed the woman, she could have reduced her weight to one kilogram and ran. But he grabbed her by the front of her dress and lifted her up to eye level.

Hot breath hit her face, his claws were so close to her skin she could have sworn they could pierce her skin. "Your kind are scum." Bashura hissed out. "To treat comrades like pawns, is the lowest of the low. Leave this place, or I will not be as merciful as I was tonight."

Not merciful as he was tonight? Naruto could not believe that. Bashura practically tore some smock in half! And that was merciful? Well God damn it, even in a feral rage Bashura knew how to restrain himself. That granted him a bit more of respect in Naruto's eyes. And even a bigger one in Vivi's.

When Bashura dropped Miss Valentine today, and enraged yell escaped from the pile of rubble Mr. 5 was buried in. The dreadlocked man stood on his own two feet despite his broken leg, his pistol in his hand the Officer Agent fired all six shots, hitting his navigator right in the back.

Naruto looked on in horror as the large man let out a loud cry of pain. The bullets tore through his vest and scorched him back, causing the giant black panther to collapse onto his knees. The next second he saw nothing but red. Leaving Vivi to herself, Naruto lunged at Mr. 5, catching him unaware and punched him right in the belly.

He drove the Frontier Agent to the ground, coughing up a mouthful of blood. But Naruto was not done with him, grabbing him by the front of his torn jacket, the tiger shark fishman began to viciously punch Mr. 5 in the face. Gone was his training in Fishman Karate to create kinetic force to turn his head into jelly, just raw, savage punches that were meant to deal out a lot of pain.

"You motherfucker!" Naruto pulled him up by hist torn pink cravat, and slugged him across his right cheek. "How dare you...how fucking dare you?!" He smashed his nose flat against his face. "I ought to kill you for attacking my navigator when his back was turned. And then I will send your head to your boss!" The third punch shattered the right lens to his sunglasses. In that single moment Naruto unleashed years of anger that built up in him upon the unconsciousness man. He punched him because he lost his parents to slavers. He punched him because a human murdered Queen Otohime. He punched him because Vander Decken IX threatening Shirahoshi's life because she refused to marry him. He punched him because he broke his promise to Shirahoshi. He punched him for the causal dismissal of his comrades. He punched him for reminding him of the World Nobles. And then he just continued to punch him because he ran out of reasons.

Naruto would have beaten Mr. 5 to death if not for the intervention of Kotetsu who have been awake the entire time during the scuffle, and Vivi who could not stand to see such brutality coming from him. Naruto would have continued swinging if it wasn't for that sleeping poison taking in effect. His arms felt like dead weights, and his body felt like a ton of bricks.

"Dammit, Uzumaki that's enough." Kotetsu grunted through his Captain's struggling. Even when drugged and injured the blond was still a pain in his ass. "You won, and Bashura's okay!"

"He's right, look." Vivi pointed at Bashura, now back in his human form panting in pain, his back blackened and torn, but still among the living. The Princess of Alabasta placed her hands on his biceps, giving it a light squeeze. "Please, just stop."

The blond Captain of the motley crew continued to put up a fight, but soon enough he lost the will to continue the fight, his anger spent during those punches. He however did glare at Miss Valentine. "Get the hell out of here, and pray that we do not meet again."

Miss Valentine, well on the verge of having a panic attack could only look at Naruto in horror. The damage he dealt to her partner would have killed lesser men, Mr. 5 was tough, but even he could not withstand such bone shattering force, and nearly threw up when his swelled up face turned towards her. The damage was severe, teeth were missing, both eyes were swelled shut, his nose was broken in a dozen places, and there were lacerations from the furious punches.

"What are you waiting for, an invitation? Git!" Naruto snarled out.

The yellow-clad woman did not need to be told twice. Miss Valentine went over to her partner, and picking him up into a fireman's carry, she turned away and, using the power of her devil fruit, lowered her weight and ran like a bat out of hell away from the scene.

When the two were out of sight did both Kotetsu and Vivi let go of Naruto's arms. The blond fishman let out a sigh and wiped away the massive amount of sweat pouring from his face. He felt his body purging the poison from his system, but that was not what was making his body continue to shake.

He lost control. After the years of discipline that was literally beaten into him, he temporarily lost control on that explosion asshole. Naruto looked at his fists, the right one baring scars on his knuckles from his training accident all those years ago in the dojo, and his left one wet with the blood of Mr. 5.

Naruto clenched his trembling left hand, his fingernails digging into the palm of his hand until it bled. _'Son of a bitch!'_ He swore to himself, _'They saw it as well. I cannot even face them after that.' _Dammit, not only did he lose face of a calm, composed fighter. But whatever dignity he had upon coming to the surface world. He might as well have been better going off on his own, risking of getting eternally lost in the ocean before getting back on that ship.

Vivi, however showed her true colors by placing a dainty hand on his broad shoulder, a smile forming on her face. "Naruto, thank you for protecting me from Mr. 5. That was really brave of you."

A handkerchief soon covered Naruto's trembling left hand, and a big tattooed hand wiped the blood from his fist. The savage-looking navigator gave him a big, toothy grin. "Thank you, Cap'n. Kuro would have not avenged me if I fell to those bullets. You're a better man than him."

"Yea," Kotetsu seconded, his hands patting down his ruined jacket. Thankfully he had a couple of extras thanks to Carmen's womanly foresight. "Listen, it's okay to lose control once and a while, as long as you acknowledge it. Any idiot can lose control and just walk away, but it takes a strong person to admit when they lost control and admit they have problems as opposed to hiding them." And this coming from a guy who had lost control four times, morphing into a complete psychopath, and _not_ going insane himself from the atrocities he committed, that was possibly the best advise he could give given the situation.

Naruto soon found himself at a loss for words. He was expecting violent reprisals, but he was being showered with kindness instead of hate. _'But...but Captain Hody said that humans were unforgiving of fishman actions. No forgiveness, no toleration of lesser species...and yet-"_

The surprisingly touching moment was destroyed by the two squabbling members of the Straw Hat Pirates as they, quite literally crashed in on their moment. Apparently both Zoro and a now thin Luffy were continuing to try and beat the living crap out of each other.

"Dammit, Luffy!" Zoro bellowed at his Captain with two swords in hand. "I told you, these guys were trying to capture us!"

"And I told you those guys are innocent and you beat them up for no reason Zoro!" Luffy screamed, his arms stretching three miles backwards into the ruined town. "Gum Gum Bazooka!"

Holding his swords in front of him pointing up, like rhinoceros horns, Zoro jumped into the air and began spinning quickly. "Rolling Rhino!"

Before the two attacks met head on, the two pirates found themselves eating dirt, all thanks to Naruto's fists hitting them in the back of their thick heads. "Dammit you two, take that shit elsewhere!"

It took thirty more for everyone to calm down from their battle highs. Bashura managed to scrounge up some bandages from the rubble of the various houses that were demolished, and patched up those that needed fixing.

Resting against the last remaining building, Naruto crossed his bandaged forearms across his chest, peering at a bandaged up Igaram as Vivi finished her tale of woe. From what he managed to piece together, her country of Alabasta had been suffering from an extreme drought; except for Alubarna, the capital of the country. There was a scandal when a substance called Dance Powder was found in the palace and her father, Nefertari Cobra was accused of stealing what kept the country alive.

But what caught everyone's attention was that the perpetrator of the scandal was "Sir Crocodile" a member of the Shichibukai, who single-handedly started a rebellion to try and take down her father for reasons that were unknown at this point in time. And that the tender age of fourteen she and Igaram infiltrated the Baroque Works Organization to try and find proof to bring back to her country, and hopefully save it from the insuring civil war.

"That is horrible." Nami whispered out, her hand covering her mouth after hearing the story, and her shapely rear sitting on a bag full of treasure she scrounged up from the unconscious bounty hunters. Her mind however was going a thousand miles a minute, racking up a plan to exploit this for her benefit.

"Nami is right!" Luffy bellowed, his swelled head from Naruto's punch now on focused on a single-minded quest. "Vivi, we're going to help you bring down Crocodile!"

Vivi found herself taken back by the proclamation, she immediately protested against such actions. "I can't let you do that! Crocodile is practically untouchable in the country, and he has many supporters, some that I have never even seen."

"Ah, who cares?" Luffy placed one hand on his bicep and squeezed it. "That won't stop us from doing it anyways. Besides, it's on our way to our next destination right Nami?"

The orange-haired thief nearly balked at the thought, but agreed. She could draw up an agreement between the Princess and herself during the voyage there.

"Well, count us out." Naruto broke up the mood by standing up with little difficulty.

"What!?" Luffy bellowed in outrage. "Why not? You heard what she said, her country needs help. How can you be so heartless?"

Luffy's outrage was met with an outburst of anger from Naruto. Raising his right arm up, he punched the wall, and delivered kinetic energy through the structure, and leveled it entirely. "Shut your mouth Rubber-boy. You think I want to pussy out? But look at us, unlike your crew we're not fresh enough for his fight. Especially after we took most of the hits for you."

"Uzumaki is unfortunately right, it's just us being practical." Kotetsu was the next to stand up, his entire chest bandaged. "Listen, as much as this burns me, it's just not our fight. All of us are wounded, and we're just not up to fighting against a member of the Shichibukai."

"He is right," Bashura seconded, bending over to try and alleviate his back pain. "My back is out, Kotetsu's chest needs a looking into, Gin is still suffering from poison, and we know not of Carmen's fighting prowess. We're sorry, good day."

"But!"

"I said good day." Bashura brushed Luffy off, and that was the end of that.(2)

"Naruto wait!" Vivi bit her bottom lip, a bad habit she had when was tense or nervous. When the blond fishman turned toward her, his blue eyes staring into her gray ones, she swallowed the lump in her throat and bowed deeply towards him. "Thank you for everything, and good luck with your journey."

That single action felt like he was stabbed through the heart with a dagger. But the only thing he could do was nod, and the three left them without another word, no words were said between the three of them. They felt like cowards for turning their tails and running, but their hearts just weren't into it. They could not fight like that, it would wind up getting them killed.

The three soon boarded the _Bezan Black_, their sails were hoisted, and then set off to leaving the island.

"So, we're really just leaving them?" Gin asked once they left port. He had possibly the best poker face imaginable, not showing any sort of emotion, but his body posture proved otherwise.

"We cannot go off to another country and fight for them," Naruto said between puffs of his cigar, bless whoever invented this invention, it certainly calmed his frenzy nerves. "Not only is it our problem, but it would also get us killed."

"Uzumaki, I never thought I would live to see thirty." The First Mate said dully. "But that never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do, especially now."

"Dammit Gin, you're not gonna die." Naruto winced when the older man violently coughed into his hand, his entire body wracking with agony. Wait a go Naruto, open mouth, insert foot.

The crew of the _Bezan Black_ soon passed by a giant ship on the southern end of the island, and both men couldn't help but appreciate the sheer size of the Galleon class ship. Gin narrowed his eyes when he saw a figure at the helm. "Hey, who the hell is that?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked towards where Gin was pointing. At first he thought it was Vivi, but then he realized that Vivi was not that tall, or wide...or ugly...or a man. "Hey, that's Mr. 8...or Igaram. Wonder what he's up to."

"Must be some sorta decoy." Gin muttered thoughtfully. He breathed through his nose to take in the sea air before he picked up something familiar. He took another long whiff, and then coughed in response. "Uzumaki, get of the ship and grab that drag queen!" He yelled in alarm.

"What's going on?" Naruto demanded.

"I smell gunpowder, lots of it! That ship is rigged to blow!" If there was one thing Gin knew about, it was gunpowder. He knew the smell anywhere, and the huge amount on that ship was enough to blow it, and them sky high!

_'God damn it, can this day not get any worse!?'_ Naruto cursed inwardly. "Take the wheel and get us as far away as you can!" Spitting out half his cigar, the blond fishman took a running start from the middle of the ship, and dived into the sea.

The blond sliced through the water like a hot knife through butter. Blue eyes steeled ahead, he swam until he saw the bottom of the Galleon. Then diving downwards, Naruto delved deep until he reached the sand. Planting his feet onto the surface, he used his strong leg muscles to shoot straight up to the surface.

The water exploded outwards when he reached the surface, it would have been majestic if the situation wasn't so serious. Naruto flew over the guard rails, towards a surprised Igaram, pulling his arms out he wrapped the big man into a bear hug, and the duo hit the wooden guard rails on the other side; cracking threw them. They would have hit the water if not for one thing: Hands, and lots of them sprouted out the side of the ship. They formed into a sort of slide that let Naruto and Igaram slide down all the way towards the dirt road where they tumbled on impact.

The giant ship soon exploded, sending both Naruto and Igaram what felt like a mile away from the blast zone. Both of them tumbled through building's, the streets, hell Igaram banged his head against a lamppost that knocked them him unconscious before they both harshly landed against the hard ground.

"Ouch..." Naruto coughed out painfully. "I've been punched, kicked, nearly set on fire, shot and slashed at, bitten, flown through far too many buildings, and now blown up. What a track record." He sarcastically said to himself before sitting up. The beautiful night sky was ruined by the rising flames of the ship, causing him to scowl distastefully. "I'm going to kill whoever did that."

"You're going to kill little old me? That's cute." A smooth, sophisticated voice called him to look up at one of the houses.

Sitting on the roof was a tall, light-skinned, slender, yet athletic woman with shoulder-length black hair. She had blue eyes, with dark, wide pupils, and she has a long, thin and defined nose. She wore a skimpy cowgirl outfit consisting of a purple cleavage-exposing corset and matching miniskirt that showed off her long shapely legs and narrow waist, both with white ornaments hanging from them, and a white fur-lined coat paired with a white cowboy hat and white high-heeled boots.

"And who the hell are you?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"My name is Miss All-Sunday, and I'm the second in command to the Baroque Works Organization." The woman revealed herself, or at least her code name. "That was some fast work you did there Mr. "Sword of the Sea", your reputation certainly precedes you."

"All right, What's with this Sword of the whatever?" Naruto demanded. "I've heard that several times already, and no one has bothered to explain it to me."

Miss All-Sunday giggled in response, and to Naruto's amazement, an arm grew out of her shoulder, and reaching into her cleavage, she pulled out a folded piece of paper. She tossed it, and watched in amusement when the blond caught it, unfolded it, and flipped out seeing his head on a wanted poster.

"What kind of bullshit is this!?" He spat, violently pointing at his smiling mugshot. "How in the hell did I get a bounty on my head?"

"Well, wiping out "Saw-Tooth" Arlong and his entire crew, along with the Captain Nezumi of Unit Sixteen, and Captain Stark of Unit Thirteen. Not to mention a shipload of Marines of various ranks will give you somewhat of a reputation." Miss All-Sunday said with a smile.

"God dammit!" Naruto swore loudly, what in the deep blue seas did he do to deserve this? The blond took several deep deep breaths to compose himself. Getting mad would not do him any good now. "Why did you save us then? Aren't you supposed to be against traitors, and those that stand in your way?"

"Nope," Miss All-Sunday said, smiling as the arm went back into her shoulder. "In fact, I was planning on sparing Igaram, but you beat me to the punch...I just gave you a helping hand to show a gesture of good faith. And please excuse that pun." She then leaned forwards, resting her palm upon her chin. "I was also was the one who informed the Princess, through bits and pieces of information that Crocodile was the head of this organization."

"And why would you do that?" All this skull-skulduggery was giving him a headache. "What's your gain in all of this?"

"I'm doing this for my own reasons." The woman said before standing up. Then, an arm growing out of her waist, she used it to reach onto a pouch by her side and flung something at hm. Naruto caught it, and looked at the thing in surprise. "Consider it a welcome present for making it to the Grand Line."

Naruto looked up to respond, to question. But Miss All-Sunday was nowhere to be seen. He clutched the object in his right hand, a golden zippo lighter with the Baroque Works symbol etched onto it.

"Looks like we're heading the Alabasta after all." He should not have been happy, but deep down, Naruto found his reason to go Alabasta in Igaram. He may not have like humans all that much, but he was not the type of asshole who left someone stranded and nowhere to do. After all, he got a First Mate doing just that.

(On board the Bezan Black – The Next Day)

"All right, let me get this straight." Carmen said, her fingers holding the bridge of her nose to stem off a migraine. "Last night, we were attacked by a criminal organization of underworld bounty hunters. You three..." She pointed at the only bandaged members of the crew. "Along with that green-haired guy stopped them from turning us in."

"Yep." Kotetsu nodded.

"But then you were attacked by the Frontier Agents. Defeated them easily, but were soon attacked by two Officer Agents. But then you," She pointed at Bashura. "Defeated them with some difficulty. But after getting shot in the back, our Captain nearly beat him to death and made them run for their lives."

"Yep." Bashura scratched himself behind the ears.

"And now, you bring one of the Frontier Agents onto our ship dressed in drag. And you're telling me he is Captain of the Royal Guard of Alabasta, but another one if the Princess of that same country? And now we are traveling after The Straw Hat Pirates to not only bring him home, but try and stop the civil war that is brewing."

"That about explains it." Naruto said, crossing his arms.

"Ugh, you three are going to be the death of me." Carmen sighed. The chef of the dysfunctional crew soon got to her feet and smoothed out her pink flamingo dress. "Anything else you need of me before I start making breakfast?"

"Actually, yes." Naruto said getting to his feet. "I know you're a chef. A damn good one, but I have no idea what you can do fighting-wise."

"I can defend myself if that's what you're asking." She said, placing her hands on her hips.

"I would imagine so, but this is the Grand Line." Kotetsu said approaching her. His lazy expression was gone, replaced by a more serious one. "This place is merciless, if you think the East Blue was bad, I'll tell you right now it's tame compared to the people here. Pirates run amok here like rats, there are many devil fruit-users here, and more Marines as well. We'll be hunted thanks to mister forty-five million and ten million, and not to mention me on this ship. We need to know you can fight."

"So, tell us. Is all that flamboyant actions you do while cooking some sort of exercise, or are you just good with your fans?" Naruto said, continuing to interrogate her about her skills.

The pink-haired woman sighed and blew some strands of hair from her face. "Let me get my fans, and you guys set up some training dummies, or whatever needs to be set up. And I will show you what I can do."

When the chef went away, both Bashura and Kotetsu brought out odd objects. Empty wooden barrels, buckets, and rope. With Naruto's experience from the dojo, he set them up at different angles, situation area's, and ranges. The three waited for the only woman of the crew to approach the temporary training area.

Carmen approached the area a minute after they set everything up. Immediately, she leaped high into the air, somersaulting until her right heel hit the bucket head of the enemy, then she back flipped towards the one behind her and nailed it in the 'chest' area. Landing firmly on her feet, she soon slashed at the 'dummy', carving deep lacerations into it's 'chest' and turning around, she stabbed the bucket right in-between the 'eyes' with the one of the five sharp points on the end of it.

Then as an after thought she kicked the barrel in the 'groin' area, send it flying into the mast where it broke apart on impact. Then, flicking her fans closed, she threw both of them towards the third one and watched as they pierced the 'heart' and 'head' of the last dummy.

When she was done, Carmen gave the three men watching a saucy smile, giggling at their dumbstruck expressions. "Is that good enough, or so I need to demonstrate some more?"

"Nope I think we're good." Kotetsu said, blinking owlishly.

"Yea...good job." Naruto scratched his head. "Um, not you guys clean up this mess. I gotta go and see how the drag queen is doing."

Before any of them could retort, Naruto sprinted clear away from the scene, making them all curse him for sticking them with the dirty job.

After leaving those three suckers to clean up the mess, he soon arrived into the room where he dumped Igaram for the night. He had not moved an inch from where he dropped him on the bed, he was still dressed in Vivi's Baroque Works clothing, except his torso was painted, and he looked...quite horrifying to look at. It certainly looked better on Vivi.

"That is quite possibly the worse thing I have ever seen in my life." Naruto said in disgust. Walking over to the end of the bed, her easily flipped it over, flinging Igaram onto the ground.

"Gah! Ouch who the-" Igaram turned up towards Naruto, his eyes widening in surprised. "What are you doing on the decoy ship!?"

"Your decoy ship blew up thanks to Miss All-Sunday." Naruto said, pulling out the zippo lighter she gave him. He idly thumbed over the etching of the logo before turning towards him. "I saved you from getting blown up."

"Oh...oh, thank you." The memory of seeing the ship explode, and the pain of getting his head knocked around was coming back to him. "What's to become of me then?"

"Well," Naruto took out a cigar and lit it with the zippo lighter. "I'm taking you home to Alabasta."

"What!?" The big man flew back in surprise. "But last night, you all said-"

"Things change." Naruto waved him off. "Listen, I know what I said before. Hell I was going to leave and not look back, but then I saved you. So that clearly changes things, got it?"

Realization dawning upon him, Igaram's eyes soon overflowed with tears and he wrapped the blond fishman in a tight hug. "Thank you, I cannot display how grateful I am for this!"

His grateful hug was greeted by finding himself lying on the ground, and three fresh lumps on his head from Naruto's right fists. "Show your gratefulness by putting on some damn pants." The blond said exhaling some smoke from his nostrils. "Please, do so asap." He then left the man alone, there was nothing else to see here. Absolutely nothing. Period.

* * *

><p>Tens of thousands of miles away in a Marine base. Jinbe "The Knight of the Sea" was putting the finishing touches on some paperwork from his latest assignment the Marines assigned him. The mission was simple, track down and capture some up and coming pirates. He did just that without any complaints, and there were no casualties beyond some broken bones.<p>

After putting the final period, the whale shark fishman let out a sigh of relief. "Paperwork, I rather be jailed than do it." He muttered to himself, oh the perks of being a member of the Shichibukai.

Leaning back against the giant chair specifically made for his size, the karate master soon began to think about his apprentice. Naruto was a strong lad, stronger than most fishmen his age. To reach level sixty at the age of seventeen was simply unheard of, even Hoshigaki Kisame, Fisher Tiger, and even himself reached that level in their twenties, and they were considered prodigies of their times.

But despite his level, he was still worried about the boy. Arlong was ruthless, and so was a good lot of his crew. And if not Arlong, then it was the surface world. There were a lot of humans that would regard him as a lesser species. Then there was the Power of the Sea King, something that would cause him to act erratically, cause out of control anger, and who knew what else.

Not even Neptune knew the extent of that power. The only documented case was of a young fishman who grew up with the original Poseidon and becoming her protector, a guardian of sorts who tragically died protecting the Ancient Weapon. Any trace of how to control, or even understand the power Naruto held within him was lost during the The Void Century, leaving The Royal Family clueless, some even dismissed that it was nothing more than a legend until it manifested in his student.

A knock on the door broke him out if his train of thought. "Come in."

A Marine woman, small in stature and pretty-looking opened the door. Held in her hands was a a large box with a note taped to the top of it. "This arrived for you," She said, her nose wrinkling in disgust at the box(3). "Please take it."

The whale shark fishman took the box, a confused expression forming on his face. Picking up the note, he slowly read it out loud. "Dear Jinbe, I got Arlong and his entire crew for you. Yea I know I was only to get Arlong, but he sicced them on me, but we're square now...don't make me do it again. Signed, Uzumaki Naruto. What in the blue seas?" Jinbe opened the box and immediately recoiled.

There was Arlong's decapitated head head right in the box. His mane of black hair was messed up and clumped with blood, one eye hollowed out, various cuts and bruises marred his face. "Who did this?" He demanded.

"It was Uzumaki Naruto, sir." The Marine said. Pausing in an after thought she reached into her jacket and pulled out several slips of paper. "This is the report that was written up for the incident, and witness testimonies from the residents of Cocoyashi Village."

With shaking fingers, he took the report and read through it. His eyes widened on the detailed accounts from the villagers, how he killed Chew, massacred the entire crew with a combination of Fishman Karate, Water Manipulation, and the use of his anchor ax. He read about how he threw Mohmoo a giant sea cow off the island, killed Kuroobi, and punched Hatchan into the sea. Jinbe then read about the fight between Arlong, how they went into the structure of Arlong Park, and how the sawshark fishman came flying out looking like he went through a meat grinder. Jinbe then almost cried out 'bullshit' when he read the report about Naruto picking up Arlong Park by its foundations and dropped the entire thing down on his former crew mate to finish him off.

After finishing the fight, he read how Naruto killed Captain Nezumi and all of Unit Sixteen; minus the Cabin Boy being the lone survivor. Then from the few survivors of Unit Thirteen about how he killed Captain Stark. Soon enough, he got to the end where Naruto cashed in the bounties of Arlong and Don Krieg, along with the testimony of Master Chief Petty Officer Tashigi of his student hooking up with "Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu, a former Ensign ranked Marine turned genocidal murderer worth sixty-five million beli(4). A savage-looking man that went by the name of Bashura. Gin "The Demon-Man", a pirate worth ten million beli. And "Five-Alarm" Carmen, a well renowned chef that was supposedly kidnapped by them.

At the end of the report, Jinbe saw Naruto's wanted poster, supporting his infamous shark-like grin. "'Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto." Jinbe felt the tears fall from his eyes, and watched as they hit the paper.

"Naruto, what have you done?"

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Hello folks, been a while hasn't it?<p>

Everyone, minus the defectors: Damn right it has!

Armageddon: Yea, sorry folks. I've been...well busy outside of this. Plus I was uninspired, and had a massive case of writers block, not to mention working two to three temporary jobs for now. It ain't a sob story, it's just something I gotta do for now, after all writing this out does not pay the bills...but man would it be awesome if it did.

Pvt. Liquor: *His face suddenly comes onto a large screen in the barracks* Arrgh me former superior officer, ye should just become a pirate! It's the best thing I ever did I my life! *Belches like Barney Gumble*

Pvt. VFSNAKE: He's right, do oyu know how may times I got laid last night? It was like...five times! You gotta join us!

Lt. Doom: I hope you used protection on your privates, Private. I do not want you carrying something on our ship, or leaving something at port.

Pvt. Killjoy: Haha I think we stole something just in case.

Armageddon: Dammit! I am going to break my foot off in your asses!

Pvt. Liquor: Good luck! *Ends the transmission*

Armageddon: That's it! *Tears off his Patton-style uniform for a badassed pirate outfit* Men, set up the ship, ready the big guns and get the god damn tanks ready. We're going after those deserters, and kicking some ass on the way!

Everyone, minus the defectors: *Tears off their military uniforms, and into awesome pirate outfits* Aye Aye Captain! We're ready to kick so ass and take some names!

Armageddon: Then lets go YEAAA!

(1) If you don't know what that's from, then I feel so sorry for you. Watch that movie dangit!

(2) If you know what this is from, then pat yourself on the back.

(3) Yes, I also went with another movie reference. If you know what it is from, then good for you.

(4) Remember, Kotetsu; while he did butcher a ton of Marines had his story blown out of proportion by the Marines to cover up what they did on Iron Island by framing Kotetsu and having him that the fall for every soul being butchered there.


	13. Someone call a Doctor!: Part One

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. Folks, if I did I would be cackling over knowing exactly what One Piece is...and having a real pirate ship. Dammit I need to stop playing Black Flag.

"Talk" Talking

'_Think_' Thinking

* * *

><p><em>On the warm July morning I met with a great man, even now after all these years I still consider him one of the greatest influences on my life. This person was Jinbe "The Knight of the Sea".<em>

_If you don't know who he is, then you've either lived in a cave all your life, you're too young to know about him, or you're just dumb as a Sea Cow. If you're either of these things then allow me to explain. Jinbe was a Royal Knight in Neptune's Army, The Second Captain of the Sun Pirates, and my future teacher._

_I literally bumped into the guy in the Fishman District when I went to go to work for Madame Shyarly. I was star struck, at the age of eight I was standing in front of a legend like Fisher Tiger. It was possibly the greatest event in my young life, and may have been the only thing as well._

_But then...a ship crashed at the entrance of Fishman Island. That was where met my first human, and saw first hand how horrible they could be._

* * *

><p>"This simply will not do!" Igaram bellowed from his position on the deck of the ship.<p>

"Oh what now?" Naruto groaned irritably as he placed his pen into the into it's proper spot with the ink well and removed himself from his chair. He moved from the room hidden in the bowels of the ship and emerged in the sunlight.

There he saw Igaram; thankfully clad in a cheap suit that they picked up at an island the day they brought him onto the ship. At first Naruto did not mind the man being on board, but then he started being a pain in his ass. For five days the man scoured the ship, pointing out various flaws and damages that they missed or had yet to take care of. It was mainly the lack of electricity, a foul smell, and one of the bathrooms being broken thanks to Gin's "sessions".

The blond fishman looked around the deck, and saw Igaram looking at Bashura. He raised an eyebrow watching the savage-looking man curled up on the deck, practically purring in delight at the warm sun hitting his tattooed skin...weird. It had to have been an effect of that devil fruit of his.

Kotetsu was looking down at the scene with tired eyes. Now Naruto let most of the crew stay to themselves, but even he noticed their swordsman had not been sleeping well. In fact he was starting to look a lot like Gin with the bags he was developing.

"All right, what is it now curly?" Naruto asked Igaram, giving him his fitting nickname.

"I was informed by your crew mates on how you acquired this ship. And I find it very unfitting." Igaram said, taking the nickname in stride, figuring it was just a temporary thing. Oh, how wrong he was.

"If you're going to patronize me about stealing from pirates, then you and I are gonna have a problem." Naruto developed a tick mark on his left cheek, "I took you on here on a whim, figuring you would guide us to Alabasta. But if you keep up with this complaining..." He let the threat hang.

"I do not care about that." The Captain of the Royal Guard waved his hands in a hurry. "Tell me what is the name of this ship?"

"The _Bezan Black_." Bashura answered, uncurling himself and stretching his body out like a cat would.

"That just won't do, if you capture a ship, then you can rename it." Igaram said, gesturing the entire ship with his right hand. "I can see you went through the trouble to get rid of every trace of its former occupants, it's not the same ship it used to be. Plus, isn't it considered bad luck to sail in a ship you captured and not renamed it?"

"He's got you there Uzumaki!" Kotetsu yawned out from the crows nest. "Go and rename her, you're the Captain after all."

"Dammit I'm..." The blond stopped himself from yelling at him. He did agree to be the Captain of the ship, but he didn't like it. "Fine, what would be a good name?"

"Something tough." The four heard a weak voice behind them. They turned to see an absolutely battered Gin leaning against the wall of the aft part of the deck. He looked absolutely horrible, his skin was losing its tan color, he was thinner than they remembered, and he was shaking from the wind.

"Damn Gin, you all right?" Naruto asked his First Mate.

"Not really, I feel like hammered shit." Gin coughed out, his entire body wracking with agony. "But don't worry, Carmen's making up something that'll settle. Now name the ship, we don't want something that makes us look like pussies."

"You're right about that," Naruto ignored the nagging feeling in his head, Gin really didn't look too good. The blond thought for several minutes, going over various names before settling on one that sounded good. "I'm gonna name her _Nautilus_."(1)

"What does that translate to?" Bashura tilted his head quizzically.

"It roughly translates as Sword that splits the ocean." Naruto shrugged his broad shoulders. Hey, he was called "Sword of the Sea", might as well give it the same thing.

"I think it translates to Sailor, Uzumaki!" Kotetsu called from above.

"It translates to Sword that splits the ocean! And that's that dammit!" Naruto hollered back. He refused to take it back, it stayed and that's final.(2)

"Ha, that sounds good to me." Gin managed to grit out, he coughed one last time before collapsing against the wooden wall of the aft.

"Holy shit, Gin!" Naruto was the first to reach his collapsed First Mate. He raised his hand to the man's forehead, and immediately pulled it away when he felt searing heat coming from it. "God damn, his fever is staggering. Bashura!"

"Yes, Cap'n?!" The big man got onto his feet.

"Get your treatment ready, water, and whatever else we need. Igaram, you carry him to the bed, I'll go grab Carmen. Come on all ready!" He harshly barked out orders, getting both the navigator and guest of the motley crew to get to it. Bashura bolted to his room to get the ingredients, and Igaram didn't protest in picking the poisoned man up and took him to the infirmary within the ship.

Naruto spat to the side, narrowing his eyes at the sea. "This is just one thing after another." He then looked up into the sky, and sighed loudly. "Who did I piss off in my past life to deserve this?"

"Hell if I know Uzumaki." Kotetsu answered him, "Maybe life just doesn't like you!"

"Ah, who asked you!?" The fishman retorted.

* * *

><p>(Four Days Later)<p>

"His fever still hasn't broken." Bashura sighed out tiredly.

The infirmary was surprisingly well equipped for a ship that was lit up with candles and oil lamps. It held ten beds, rolls of gauze, stitching supplies, oxygen masks, empty jars for medical supplies, cotton swaps, tongue depressors, IV's with bags, cabinets containing different medical ingredients that all of them could not make heads or tails of, a trash can, and oddly enough a defibrillator

Lying in one of the beds within the infirmary was a a horrific-looking Gin. His face was covered in sweat, his breaths labored, his skin was clammy to the touch. He looked like he was a foot away from walking into the afterlife and there was not a thing they could do about it.

It pissed Naruto off greatly. He fully admitted to himself that he didn't like these people, but to see someone like him in this bad a shape, and feeling powerless to do something about it brought up the bad memory of Queen Otohime's murder. He _hated_ that feeling more than humans. The feeling of hopelessness was worse than any wound he had ever taken.

"Your treatments haven't had any effect either." Carmen stated, held in her hand was a pink handkerchief that was the same color as her dress. She heard Gin groan in agony before swiping it across his forehead again.

"I think he's far past what I can do." Bashura said looking at the various medical ingredients that made absolutely no sense to him. "Cap'n, we need a doctor, and fast."

"I know." Naruto palmed him forehead in frustration. "But where would we find such a person? Kotetsu, Gin, and I have a combined one-hundred and twenty million Beli bounty on our heads. We would need either to pay out the ass for one to come aboard, or find one that's willing to come along. Tell me where would we find those types of people?"

"I wish I knew Cap'n. I wish I knew."

"I think I know." Kotetsu's voice caused the remaining members to turn towards him. The sandy-haired teen was leaning against the door frame of the room, his athletic arms crossed, and his head tilted to the side.

"Kotetsu, who's keeping watch?" Naruto questioned, not wishing for a repeat of the last time he left his post.

"Igaram volunteered. Now hear me out." Kotetsu said walking over to Gin's bedside. "We suck with medicine, hell my chest is still giving me trouble." He tapped his chest to make his point, wincing as the bandages stuck to his wound under his shirt and fresh hoodie. "I say we head over to Drum Island."

"Drum Island?" Carmen questioned. "What is so special about that place?"

"Well just like your Cook Island, or wherever you're gonna meet your assistants, Drum Island has some of the best doctors in the world." Kotetsu gave them a grin before his face fell in depression. "But my data is nearly three years old, so I could be wrong as dirt."

"It's better than what we got so far." Naruto said. "Bashura, set a destination to Drum Island."

"It does not work like that, Cap'n," The savage-looking navigator waved his hands at the fishman. "From the map, and my Log Pose, we got one more island before arriving at that particular island."

"And which island is that?"

"Naruto!" Igaram barged through the door, his breaths ragged from exertion. "I apologize for the intrusion, but I saw land a couple miles out."

"That would be Little Garden, Cap'n."

* * *

><p>(Little Garden – Half an hour later)<p>

Once docking upon the sandbar, Naruto, Bashura, and Igaram set foot onto the island. Leaving Kotetsu and Carmen to look after Gin.

Naruto wrinkled his nose and gripped the hilt of Saibannin Kayiouumi, his gigantic anchor axe. "This place smells funny."

"Whew, it sure is humid." Igaram wiped his forehead. "But this is nothing compared to Alabasta's deserts."

Naruto only coughed in response. Something didn't feel right, the air was too constricting, he was finding it a little hard to breathe. "Let's just get this over with. Come on, lets gather some fresh water. Keep your eyes peeled as well, I don't like this place one bit."

"Got it Cap'n." Bashura gripped his harpoon tightly.

"As you wish." Igaram patted his borrowed pistol and made sure his necktie was secured to the cannons hidden in his curls.

The trio walked into the prehistoric-looking forest, brushing away the first bushes they were greeted by tall trees, trees that were far taller than any fishman Naruto that had ever seen, and grass that was far taller than him. "God, where are we going to find a river in this?"

"I have an idea, Cap'n." Bashura grinned, and getting on all fours he drew on the power of his devil fruit. Instead of become a hulking hybrid, he went into a sleeker form of an actual black panther. It was actually an impressive sight seeing six-hundred pounds of muscle and fur wearing a top hat.

Bashura wagged his tail once, before leaping high into one of the trees. His claws caught onto the bark, and he began to climb up the giant tree with such grace, that it amazed Igaram; and Naruto to a lesser extent until he reached the top. The cat man's eyes gazed over the area, searching for a stream, or any sort of danger. "Cap'n, I see something white in the forest!"

"That really doesn't help, what does it look like!" Naruto yelled up where the cat man was perched on a branch.

"It looks like a house, it's seven clicks east from here!"

Naruto had no clue what a click was. So using his Captain position he yelled up at his navigator. "All right, you lead and we'll follow!"

Soon enough Naruto and Igaram found themselves cutting through the forest, figuratively, and in Naruto's case literally with his anchor axe felling trees. An hour soon passed and the three were no closer to getting to the white house.

BOOM!

"What on earth was that!?" Igaram bellowed.

"The hell should I...oh dear Neptune." A giant boot crashed in front of them, and a sound that reminded them of cannon fire echoed above their heads. The boot fell away, only for a pair of yellow shoes to take its place. There was another loud boom of cannon fire, and the yellow shoe-thing twisted in their direction and fell backwards, it's entire size blotting out the sun.

"Run for you freaking lives!" Naruto's scream echoed through the area.

"AHH I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Igaram took off running, screaming his curly head off, and tears of fear flowing from his wide eyes.

The two managed to clear the area before the giant...body hit the ground, creating a shock wave that lifted the two of them off the ground and smashed them through two trees before they settled onto the ground.

Immediately getting to his feet, Naruto heard two distinctive laughs. Laughing? No way, it couldn't be. Picking the unconscious Igaram up, the blond fishman bolted over to the area of devastation. Arriving at the now, as he called it battlefield he could not believe what he laid his eyes on.

The first figure he saw was a large, no scratch that, giant man. He was extremely well-built with a long black beard. He was dressed in an outfit that had a leather haramaki with iron buckles around his midsection, along with a leather belt that went diagonally across his muscular chest, dark green pants, furred brown boots, and wore a dark blue cape. Resting upon his head was a helmet that went over his eyes.

The second gigantic figure was a little more well rounded, but dressed in a similar uniform, only his was a red overall with golden button straps, fur linings, a leather strap around his right shoulder and another as a belt, yellow pants with black stripes and fur linings at the bottom, yellow shoes, a black cape, and a red helmet with two horns. He had blond beard shaped like an axes blade, beady eyes, and a pig-like nose.

"Another tie Brogy, well done!" The bearded one said.

"Same to you Dorry, well fought." The other one got to his feet and looked in there general direction. Instead of being attacked like Naruto thought they would, Brogy gave him a wide, toothy grin. "Dorry, we got visitors!"

"So, you're right." Dorry got to his feet, looking upon Naruto's smaller form. "Oh, and he's a fishman too. Don't see a lot of them in these parts."

"Uh...hey?" Naruto sweat-dropped at the sight of these two...whatever they were. This was completely unexpected. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Just our hourly fights," Brogy waved him off and crouched to take a good look at the stranger. "Who are you? And what brings you to Little Garden?"

What strange people. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He dropped Igaram seeing that there was no danger there. "That's my ships temporary guest, Igaram, Captain of the Royal Guard of Alabasta. And...Bashura get your furry ass down here!"

"Sorry, Cap'n!" Bashura leaped from one of the trees surrounding him, landing on his paws he turned back into his savage-looking form. "I was up there just in case they turned violent, would have jumped on their backs and tore em' up real good."

"Gegyagyagyagya!" Dorry gave them his distinct laugh. "We won't harm anyone unless they try to harm us, like that weasel candle man. Oh how he burns me just thinking about what he did!"

"At least the Straw Hats prevented it from getting a lot worse." Brogy shrugged his shoulders. "We'll find him, or the animals will."

"The Straw Hats were here!?" The ruefully awakened Igaram hopped to his feet. "Tell me, did you see a blue-haired girl with them? Is she all right, did any harm come upon her!?" Naruto his him on the head to shut him up, sending the man face first into the ground.

"Sorry about that, he's that girl's protector." He pointed at the conscious, but twitching human. "But, did you happen to see her?"

"Oh yea, we saw her. She was fine dispute getting coated in candle wax." Dorry noticed Igaram practically have a heart attack from hearing that. "There was some trouble here, two guys who called themselves Baroque Works interfered with our fight."

"Dorry nearly lost his life because of their villainy." Brogy snorted steam from his nose. "This was nearly a week ago, tops. And we still have not found the snakes that did this. We checked that candle house, but found no hide nor hair of them."

"I see..." Bashura mused to himself, "Tell me, how long does it take for a Log Pose to change on this island? We're in quite a hurry."

"Fraid it'll take a whole year."

"What?" Naruto asked, a little outraged that he would have to spend a whole year here. "But you said that those Straw Hats were were no more than a week ago. How the crap did they leave?"

"We gave them one of the many Log Pose's that were left here by those who either fled or were killed on the island." Brogy said, reaching his pinkie finger into his ear. "We've collected plenty of them throughout our one-hundred years of staying on this island."(3)

One-hundred years? Naruto wanted to call bullshit. "You're not abnormally large humans, are you?"

"Nope, we're giants. We're in the prime of our lives here, and we got another two-hundred if we're lucky enough." Dorry reached out with one of his giant hands. "Hop on, we'll take you to our camp. The three of you must be starving after trekking this far."

"That's mighty kind of you." Igaram got to his feet, completely oblivious to the front of his outfit being completely dirty, or the small amount of blood running down the side of his head.

"I'm game." Bashura hopped into Dorry's hand, and plopped down like it was a comfy chair. "Come on Cap'n, you know you want to."

"Oh, all right. What's the harm in it?" Naruto walked onto Dorry's outstretched hand. As soon as he was settled, the giant took off, easily walking through the giant threes, not minding the weight in his hand. They were as light as a feather to him.

The trio arrived at a camp no more than ten minutes later at the base of one of the giant mountains. Dorry set them down and walked over to the large fire. He pulled out a tree trunk sized skewer away to reveal a great chunk of roasted meat.

"There we go, this will satisfy you three. We don't got much for beverages, but we got a stream over-" Naruto did not need to be told twice before bounding off in the direction he pointed, and dunked his head into the stream. "Whoa, he must be really thirsty to do that."

"Gebabababababa!" Brogy gave off his own distinctive laugh. "Guess it's true what they say, you can take a fishman out of water, but you cannot take the water out of a fishman." He settled down near the fire and pulled out his own chunk of roasted meat and offered a part of it to them. "So, you three following those Straw Hat guys?"

"It's a long story." Bashura took the time to explain the situation while his Captain was re-hydrating. Taking a chunk of meat off with his hatchet and handing it to Igaram, and getting one for himself. "You see, my Cap'n does not like humans all that much. My personal guess he had a bad experience with them, but now that he's hanging around us, he's starting to like us or I at least like to think that."

"You don't say?" Dorry raised an eyebrow from underneath his helmet.

"Yep," The cat man bit off a piece and popped it into his mouth. "Mmm delicious." He barely held back the urge to lie on the ground and chew on that piece of the meat like a cat. "Anyways, he's always acting reluctant in issues towards humans, but I know he likes our company inwardly. Even if it does seem like he's struggling with himself constantly."

"How are you sure about this?" Igaram asked.

"Animal instinct." Bashura grinned.(4)

"Ahhh, hot damn that hit the spot!" Naruto happily proclaimed as he removed his head from the stream, refreshed and renewed. Shaking his head, he went over to the group and tore off a chunk of roasted meat Dorry offered him with his hands and began devouring it. "Mmm, this is better than most fish I've eaten. What kind of meat is it?"

"Dinosaur!" Brogy laughed at the expression of Igaram's face. He looked absolutely horrified.

"I don't suppose you got any extra lying around, or possibly something that cures poison?" Naruto raised an eyebrow in question.

"If you can find a dinosaur then you're free to take it, we got plenty. But we got nothing like that, no plants other than trees, grass, and bushes grow on this island." Dorry explained before biting into his chunk of meat. "Sorry, pal."

"Damn," Naruto bit into his own chunk of meat. It didn't hurt to ask after all.

The trio spent two more hours there, learning that they were in the presence of "Dorry the Blue Ogre", and "Brogy the Red Ogre". Both who were infamous Captains of the Giant Warrior Pirates that accumulated one-hundred million Beli bounties during their terrifying reign. They would have conquered many of islands if not for them arguing over the two Sea Kings they killed that became the islands mountains.

When asked why, Brogy and Dorry revealed that everyone in Elbaf; the island they were from, heavily believed in honor. If there was any sort of dispute or argument between any giants, the God of Elbaf would decide which one would die and one would survive. It was a cruel existence as far as Igaram was concerned, but there was nothing he as an individual could do about it.

After eating their fill, the trio watched at the two pirate Captains duked it out with their fists. Apparently one of the many volcano's erupts every hour, on the hour, letting the two giants fight each other, and again they tied every single time. Soon after the second fight they received one of the Log Poses' that were recovered by Dorry and went on their way.

"I like those two, they're a bunch of knuckleheads, but they're good people." Naruto commented after they left the two giants.

"I agree." Bashura looked upon his new Log Pose, after trading in his old one so it could potentially help out another traveler in the future. "I hope they catch those guys who screwed with them."

"It could have been worse." Igaram said. "Apparently, those two asked for Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine to back them up. But they failed to show up thanks to...well you know."(5)

"They were smart to stay away." Naruto rolled his shoulder in response. "But you were a member, don't you know anything else about them?"

"All I know is that Mr. 0 is Crocodile, Mr. 2 Bon Clay is an Okama and works alone, and Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine being the weakest of the Officer Agents. I'm sorry that's all I know." Igaram said tiredly, almost like he was in shame for not having anymore information to give.

"Relax yourself, this'll be more than enough. At least we know enough that one works alone, eh?" Bashura patted the curly-haired man, and accidentally knocked him over. "Oops, sorry."

"It's all right." Igaram dusted himself off. "Ugh, I just wish that I would stop getting head wounds. I'll be lucky enough to not get my face scarred." He said, wiping the blood running from the side of his head.

A roar soon resounded throughout the area, making them freeze in their place. Bursting through the forest were three velociraptors and a tyrannosaurus rex charging at them. The trio didn't fight, no, instead they ran screaming. They ran for their lives towards the ship. They burst through the tall grass, jumped over logs and bushes, and Naruto cut through several trees along the way to try and slow them to no avail.

When they reached the beach where their ship was anchored did both Naruto's and Bashura's attitudes change. They both had grins on their faces, and the cat man licked him lips in anticipation.

"Flying Hummingbird!" Reacting first, Bashura threw his harpoon with all his strength, the tip of the harpoon pierced the leading velociraptor in the chest. The velocity of the weapon lifted the dinosaur up and sent it sailing until it crashed into a rock, the haft of the weapon becoming buried into the torso.

He soon took up his tomahawk, and grabbed the second velociraptor by its long neck. He had to let go of his secondary weapon to clasp the offending clawed hand that tried to claw at him. The savage-looking navigator let out a loud war cry at the snapping maw of death and lifted the beast over his head.

The third velociraptor went at his exposed flank, and would have taken a chunk out of him if not for Igaram's quick actions. "Igarappappa!" Pulling his necktie strings the gun barrels hidden in the curls of his hair came out, and pulling the loops of his necktie he fired the explosive bullets. The six bullets hit the dinosaur's side, tearing through it like butter.

After killing the attacking beast, Igaram walked up to Bashura struggling with the beast. He pulled out his borrowed pistol, aimed it at the creatures head, and pulled the trigger. The beast let out a death wheeze and fell boneless in the cat man's clutches.

"Whew thank you." Bashura sighed out in relief before dropping the dead creature onto the sand.

"You should have told me that you were going to do this!" Igaram berated the larger man. "I was honestly scared for my life."

"It was a spur of the moment." He admitted, "Now I hope the Cap'n...oh my."

Igaram looked over just in time to witness Naruto cleaving through the tyrannosaurus rex's head with his anchor axe. The sharp blade tore through the beast's thick neck, his spine, and the fine meat they ate in a shower of gore that mostly landed away from the blond fishman, but a few specks got onto his outfit.

He landed on two feet easily, not looking back as the beast collapsed onto the sand with a loud thud. Naruto let out a breath he had been holding in before letting out a loud scream of victory. "Oh hell yea! Did you see that!? Take that Little Garden, Uzumaki Naruto is not afraid of you!"

"...Well, looks like we're going to have a lot of meat for a few days." Bashura happily mused to himself.

* * *

><p>(Meanwhile - On board the <em>Nautilus<em>)

"This is not good!" A male figure hissed on the inside of the ship, his eyes literally bugging out at the decapitation of the dinosaur.

"It's only three of them, and the two of us." A female voice said in a lazy fashion. "We managed to secure the other three."

"We caught them by surprise." The male said, patting a solid white casing that held a subdued Kotetsu, a blotch of dried white paint on his forehead. "And that fishman is their Captain, they say he's quite powerful."

"Only thanks the the nice lady for telling us." The girl indicated a trapped Carmen, a blotch of white paint, and pink paint on her cheeks.

"That will change soon enough, I defeated a pirate with a forty-two million bounty. I'm sure three more million won't matter in the slightest."

"I sure hope you're right, Mr. 3." The girl yawned out tiredly. Looking over at Kotetsu, she dipped her brush into her paint pallet, mixing them up until they were a black color.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Carmen you ever cook dinosaur before!?" Naruto hollered once he got onto the deck of the <em>Nautilus<em>, the bodies of the velociraptors soon laying next to the mast thanks to Bashura. "Also, do we have enough room in the freezer for them?"

They received no answer.

"Uh, Carmen? Gin? Kotetsu!?" Naruto shouted out.

"Sorry Captain, we were just tending to Gin!" Kotetsu's voice rang out from the inside of the ship. "He took a turn for the worst, I think you should come in here."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "All right, be right there!" He then looked over to the other two, "Prepare yourself, something's up."

"What makes you say that?" Igaram asked.

"Kotetsu does not call me Captain, unless he's being an asshole." The blond fishman took Saibannin Kayiouumi off his magnetized vest, and cracked his knuckles. Opening the door, he descended into the candle lit first hall of the ship.

Bashura volunteered to stay up, crouched in the crows nest for a surprise attack, and Igaram followed the blond close behind with his borrowed pistol clutched in hand. The sound of wood creaking under their feet was not the best sound in the world at this point in time.

Kotetsu burst through the infirmity, both swords in hand. He had a look of shock and fear on his face, what looked like fresh black paint on his forehead, his body twitched as if he was trying to regain control, but failing. "Mirage Sword Style: Moon Wheel!" Running at them at a fast pace, Kotetsu began to twirl his swords like saw blades. They cut into the wood, tearing the walls apart, and ripping up floorboards.

"Fuck! Whirlpool Breakthrough Fist!" Naruto didn't have the time to build up any water around his right arm, instead he just punched out, and Kotetsu seeing the impending danger crossed his blades in front of his torso, and took the blow. The swords rattled in his hands, Nidai Kitetsu screamed in his mind as the blow launched him backwards, and upwards, tearing through the ceiling, and disappearing on top of the deck.

"Candle Lock!" Mr.3's voice echoed from Naruto's side. The blond fishman watched as a block of wax exploded from the door of his bedroom. The wax hit his legs, forming a candle-shaped restraint that caused him to fall to his side.

"Gray – Color of Depression!"(6) A girl's voice followed, and a hand shot out from the door across from his room. Igaram, sensing the danger from the technique took the hit with his left shoulder. As the paint brushed across his jacket sleeve, the man let out a depressed moan, and slumped to his knees.

"I am a failure in life..." He pitifully moaned out, "I couldn't protect the princess, I couldn't save my country...I can't even satisfy my wife." It continued on like that, as he fell face first to the floor, too depressed to move a muscle or muster any energy.

"You missed, Miss Goldenweek." Mr. 3 scoffed in annoyance as he revealed himself to the bound fishman. He was an average-sized man with a rather frail-looking build. He had both has three's visible on his dirty and tattered blue and white striped vest, the upper part of his glasses, and one big three achieved through his top knot on his nearly combed black hair. He dusted off his dirty white pants and kicked Naruto in the ribs with his blue and white shoes. "But we got him in the end."

"Indeed we did, Mr. 3." Said the girl. She had a child-like appearance, and was fairly short with blushed cheeks, and had her dark red hair tied in braided pigtails. Her attire consisted of a pink hat, a dark blue T-shirt with the word "Golden" written on it in orange, a sky blue shirt with a cloud pattern over it, a maroon-colored skirt, blue-striped stockings covering her legs, and big red shoes with white cuffs and white soles. Clasped in her hands was a paint brush and a paint pallet.

"So, you're the assholes who caused so much trouble on Little Garden." Naruto struggled to break his legs free, only to find it impossible, it felt like he was trying to bend a thousand iron bars between his legs. It didn't help when Mr. 3 used the same technique to lock up his arms.

"It's no use boy, my wax is as hard as steel. Not even your kind can break out of his." Mr. 3 smirked at his struggling. "Give it up, your crew is disabled. My partner turned your swordsman against you, and unlike my fight with the Straw Hats, I got some backup from the organization. You're finished!"

"Like hell I am!" Naruto gnashed his teeth together, he struggled violently against his restraints. "I've come too far to get captured by **you**..." He voice took a sudden low pitch that alarmed the two Baroque Works members. Naruto felt his muscles bulging, the adrenaline rushing through his body. He smirked cruelly as his eyes turned completely crimson.

With a roar that was as loud as a Sea Kings, Naruto snapped his arms outwards; completely shattering the restraints on his arms. The one's restraining his legs shattered a second later, and he burst upwards and delivered a fierce uppercut to Mr. 3's square jaw.

The candle man flew upwards, crashing through the top of the deck and hitting the mast. Mr. 3 groaned out painfully from his newly broken jaw, but managed to stand on his own two feet. Naruto followed him through the new hole in the ship, snarling in fury.

"Hey Cap'n, look what I found!" Bashura's voice snapped the blond out of his newly found rage. Holding up in both his beefy hands were two animals. In his left one was a large vulture, with black feathers and white feathers, toward the neck. It had pink skin and a light yellow beak. It was also wearing a yellow aviator cap, with red flowers on it, and black goggles.

In his right one was a small otter, with brown fur as well as having white fur around the snout. It was wearing a light blue coat with purple dots that has long sleeves, and a hood, along with black sunglasses that covered its eyes.

"Can I eat them?" He asked, licking his lips hungrily, causing the two animals to squawk and struggle futilely in his hands.

"The Unluckies...Mr. 0 sent me the Unluckies as backup." Mr. 3's hair turned into an exclamation mark before drooping in front of his face in depression. "Bah, no bother!" His hair went right back up to it's number three shape. "I can defeat you without backup, Miss Goldenweek!"

"That will be impossible," Kotetsu's voice made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Turning his head towards the entrance, he looked to see the black paint on his forehead wiped away from fresh blood dripping down the crown of his head, and his partner captured with his swords to her throat. "She's good at ambushing, but she is vulnerable fighting-wise if you know of her tricks. Bad move there you four-eyed bastard."

Again, Mr. 3's hair turned into an exclamation mark, and his eyes bugged out comically.

"What was it you said to me before?" Naruto cracked his knuckles, "Well, I'm saying it to you now. Give it up, your backup is disabled. My swordsman captured your partner, you're the one that's finished!"

"I will never lose! I've been in the Baroque Works for a long time, I've earned my rank and have taken down opponent's stronger than you!" Drawing upon his devil fruit powers, Mr. 3 covered himself in wax, creating a massive white battle suit that resembled a large robotic boxer. It had the number three on its face with a blazing flame shooting where its "eye" should have been. "Behold fishman, this is my Candle Champion, it's my strongest technique in my arsenal that I used to defeat a pirate with a forty-two million bounty on his head!"

"I am not impressed." Thrusting his arms out Naruto breathed outwards and manipulated the water from the sides of the ship. Narrowing his eyes he twisted the water, spinning it constantly in motion to the point where it was nothing but compactly pressured water spears. "Water Fang Bullet!" Thrusting his arms forward he launched his water attack at Mr. 3's armored body.

"Champ Fight: Plowing the Field!" Mr. 3 plowed forward, taking the brutal hits without a care in the world towards his opponent with his boxing gloves. He pulled his right arm back and punched forwards, and delivered a powerful punch to his midsection that would have caused some damage if he didn't catch it with both hands at the expense of being pushed back a few feet and tearing up the deck even further.

"That's it? Pathetic!" Pulling his arm back he punched the glove, sending kinetic force through the armored body, causing it to crack and shake. Seeing his opponent "bleeding" in a sense, Naruto went in for the kill. "Ripping Shark Jaw Palm!" He charged at Mr. 3 with incredible speed and opened the fingers of his right hand until they were spread wide and curved like shark teeth. The instant his fingers make contact with the armor.

Mr. 3 screamed in horror as his ultimate technique was torn away from him, he lost the arm of his armor and watched it fly into the ocean. His leg was broken away and he lost balance, it just got worse when he became as helpless as a turtle flipped onto its back. Naruto jut kept tearing his armor off with ruthless efficiency until he was left with nothing but his dirty, tattered, clothes.

"How...my ultimate technique...my beautiful piece of art...was defeated...how?" He asked in shock, his hair turning into a question mark.

"Because you fucked with the wrong guy." Naruto clenched his right fist, building up the water from the deck. It swirled around his right arm like a small twister. "And now, kiss your ass goodbye Whirlpool Breakthrough Fist!"

"I won't die like this! Candle Wall!" Crossing his arms across his chest, Mr. 3 produced a great amount of wax that cocooned his entire body in thick layers of wax. He completed the technique just in time to get punched by the shredding blades of water that cut into his shield. Eventually Naruto's punch won out and Mr. 3, still inside his cocoon was launched off the ship and flew far away into the ocean.

"Whew, glad that's over." Naruto sighed out as Mr. 3's body left his line of sight. He looked around his ship seeing the massive damage, and Miss Goldenweek who was staring blankly at him. "Oh God damn it."

"Orders, Cap'n?" Bashura asked.

"Strip them of anything that could help them escape, and tie them up. Throw them in the brig...or wherever you can store them. I'll...I'll go check on the others." Naruto brought a shaky hand into his pouch and pulled out a cigar. "And for God sake, don't eat them Bashura."

"Got it, Uzumaki. Come on you face painter you're coming with me." Kotetsu tore her art supplies away and tossed them onto the deck far away from her person.

"I'm not a face painter, I'm an artist." Miss Goldenweek tiredly protested.

"So you say. Move it." The swordsman nudged her with his saber.

"I'll get the rope, they'll not escape from me." Bashura let out a disappointed sigh. He honestly wondered what otter and vulture tasted like.

"What a pain in my ass." Naruto lit his cigar, greedily inhaling it. "Ahh...nerve calming." After several more puffs he went back into the ship, scowling at the extent of the damage created from the fight. This was why he didn't fight on ships, too destructive. Give him land or sea, anything but his ship.

"_My _ship?" He said to himself, stepping over a depressed Igaram. When the hell did he claim this old piece of crap as his? It had no electricity, smelled like wood half the time, everything was outdated by ten years...and yet when he saw the damage he felt outraged. "Huh, guess this is my ship."

Naruto arrived at the infirmary and saw Carmen bounded in white candle wax, two splotches of paint of her cheeks. And Gin, still bedridden and wrapped in some sort of wax rope. "Overkill much?" He asked rhetorically. Getting by Carmen's side he looked at her blank gaze, "Hey Carmen, can you hear me?"

No response was given.

"Carmen?" He lightly slapped her cheeks. "Hey, you deaf and dumb now?"

Again no response.

"Hmm..." Looking at the paint on her cheeks he licked his right thumb and rubbed it over the white paint, smearing, and cutting it in half with his saliva.

That got a response of her, "AHHH! Naruto what on earth did you do that for!? Wait, why am I encased in candle wax!?"

"I dunno, I was hoping you could tell me."

* * *

><p>(On board the <em>Nautilus – <em>Three Days Later)

"All right, I give up. Do any of you have any bright idea on what to do with these three?" Naruto asked the conscious miscreants of his ship.

"Well, we can't just keep them. Maybe we could turn them in for a cash bounty." Kotetsu suggested.

"That won't work," Igaram said, brushing the stitched up tear in his jacket. "The Marines have no knowledge of this organization, nor its members. If we turn them in, we would just be turned away, or in your case arrested for turning in 'innocent' civilians."

"Can't we just interrogate them?" Bashura asked. "That girl was partnered with the third highest ranked agent in the organization. Maybe she knows something?"

"That is a possibility." Carmen nodded in approval.

"Now hold on, we cannot just interrogate them." Igaram protested. "They may be Baroque Works members but they are still animals, and Miss Goldenweek is just a child. I cannot in good conscience allow this to happen."

"Relax, I was thinking the same thing." Naruto agreed, much to their surprise. "What? I'm all for fighting, if they die as a result then it's no skin off my bones. But torturing someone deliberately is completely unethical, and I will not partake in it. _Ever_."

"Relax Cap'n, it was only a suggestion." Bashura backed away from the growling fishman.

"How about we just wing it?" Carmen suggested. "They are securely tied up, and the worst they can do is not answer anything."

"All right, now we're getting somewhere." Naruto placed his hands in his pockets, and began walking to where they were keeping them. "Bashura, Igaram I'll need you two. Kotetsu, Carmen head up and continue the repairs. I don't want us sinking because a sudden storm popped up."

"Got it Captain," Carmen mock saluted, and grabbed the sandy-haired teen by the arm. "Come on sleepyhead, we got work to do."

"Yea, yea, I know." Kotetsu held in a yawn, not even protesting from her actions.

"You need to sleep."

"Ugh, tell me about it."

Back with Naruto and company, they entered the cargo hold of the ship. They were greeted by the bound forms of the two animals and Miss Goldenweek, it put a small swell in Naruto's chest, believing that they were the first to capture so many agents at one time- Not counting Whiskey Peak of course.

"All right you three, here's the deal. You're screwed, no ifs, ans or buts about it." Naruto bent his knees to get to their level. "If I were any other man, you three would be tortured until you told me everything I wanted to know...but lucky for you, I am not that sort of guy. So I'm going to make a deal with you."

That got the attention or the Unluckies. Miss Goldenweek, however, just continued to give him a blank, half-lidded stare.

"Tell me all you know about your group. The members, where they are located, and more importantly their powers. I want descriptions, names, ages, I do not care. Give me that...and I will let you go." The last sentence made Igaram gasp in surprise.

"Are you out of your mind?" He asked, gesturing their prisoners with his hands. "She's with the enemy, especially Mr. 3 who nearly captured our ship! And they ratted us and the Straw Hats out to Crocodile!"

"Really? Those two did that?" He pointed at the otter and vulture. "How?"

"Mr. 13," Igaram pointed at the otter, "Has a powerful memory, and an artist. He draws very descriptive pictures of targets and other enemies to the organization. And Miss Friday," He pointed at the vulture. "Is the one who flies him directly to Crocodile."

"All right, I get it." Naruto sighed out loudly. "But they will be traitors, more than likely those two will either run to Crocodile and give him pictures of us, or they will run for their lives. Either way they'll be off my ship. Bashura, take those two and get what you can out of them, Igaram and I will deal with...this one."

"As you wish, Cap'n." Bashura pulled the two animals up by the scruff of their necks, licking his lips hungrily as he left the room.

"Oh boy, I hope he doesn't eat them." Naruto sweat-dropped before turning towards Miss Goldenweek. "All right, Miss Goldenweek was it?"

He got a blank stare as his answer.

"The offer is still on the table, I would like to know about your organization."

Another blank stare.

"...I know you're not mute, or dumb. You his curly here with a paintbrush and he became a weeping mass of self-pity." Naruto thumbed over at Igaram.

"I resent that." The big man crossed his arms across his chest. "I couldn't control myself. That was the oddest devil fruit power I have ever seen."

Again, they were met with a blank stare. Which escalated into a ten minute staring contest between her and Naruto, blue eyes stared into black, neither blinking until it was the blond fishman who fell backwards in defeat. There was nothing behind that stare of hers, complete and total nothingness. Not the dead inside nothingness, oh no. It was something that he never encountered in his life: Laziness, pure unadulterated laziness. It was something he never had the pleasure of doing, nor did he ever with to either.

"Igaram...please take over, I fear that I will not get a thing out of her." The blond fighter said, slowly getting to his feet. "God, it feels like I need to drink coffee, or some strong tea around her."

Naruto didn't see it, but Miss Goldenweek perked up hearing the word "tea". This prompted Igaram to gain a smile on his face, a plan formulating through his brain. "Why don't you check on Bashura, I believe I can handle her."

"If you say so." Naruto shrugged his shoulders and left the room wishing him the best of luck. He went traveled through the lower level until he found Bashura, which wasn't very hard to do with his giant size. He smelled something, something...delicious.

"Oh no, Bashura you didn't..." He quickly ran, ready to berate or punch their navigator depending on the situation. Instead of seeing the savage-looking man biting mat off a drumstick, he was that he set two bowls of Donburi in front of the two animals. The vulture was busy devouring her share while the otter was scratching down pictures, names and what looked like places. (7)

"Oh, hey Cap'n. You're just in time." Bashura greeted the fishman. "Mr. 13 is about finished with what you asked. They don't know their real names...but at least we know who they are and what their numbers are."

Picking up one of the many pieces of paper, Naruto looked at Mr. 6, a man with shoulder-length white hair that was held in place by a blue bandanna, green eyes, and a cruel vicious smirk on his face. It listed his proficiency with knives, wires, and a giant shuriken.

The sheet of paper that held his partner, Miss Mother's Day was a young woman with long brown-colored hair which was tired to form a ball on the top of her head, using what appeared to be a knitting-needle, while two large locks with darkened tips framed the remainder of her face pretty face. Despite her beauty however, she had a dark look in her brown eyes. Unlike her partner, it only showed that she was good with a sword. (8)

"Hmm, you know what. I am actually satisfied with this." Settling the papers down on the table he said, "After they are finished, tell Carmen to cook them up something to go."

"Aye, aye Cap'n." Bashura waved him goodbye as he went to check on Igaram.

"...All right, what the actual fuck is this?" Naruto deadpanned when he got back into the cargo hold. He was expecting to see Igaram talking to their captive, pleading even, or some sort of asinine idea that would have made him shake his head. What he did not expect was the man sitting on the blanket with a teacup in his large hand, nor did he expect to see an extremely happy Miss Goldenweek spilling her guts out.

"Oh, hello Naruto." The curly-haired man greeted the fishman. "We were just finishing up our conversation. Would you care to join us?"

"No...I'm fine," Naruto blinked his eyes to make sure he was not hallucinating. He wasn't, dammit. "Igaram...how? How in the deep blue seas did you turn her from a lazy lump to..." He gestured to the violently shaking girl. "That?"

"Tea," Igaram simply said before taking a sip from his cup. "I saw her perk up when you said the word tea and knew what to do. I went up to the kitchen and boiled some water, poured in some honey, scooped in ten tablespoons of sugar, and a special ingredient that gives it its wonderful aroma. It's an Alabasta favorite."

"So, she told you about the Baroque Works organization...over some tea?" Naruto sweat-dropped. It should not have been that easy.

"Extremely sweet tea, actually." Igaram took another sip, sighing in satisfaction at its taste. "In fact, she was just about to tell me how she managed to capture Carmen, and turned Kotetsu against you. Right?"

"Of course," Miss Goldenweek drank down the rest of her tea. "I use Color Traps, with this technique I developed myself I can hypnotize a person through the influence of colors and can alter a fight." She held out a shaking hand for more tea, something Igaram happily provided. "All I have to do is paint the symbol onto them directly or something they would stand on. Once they fall under my spell they are unable to break out of it unless it is removed or smeared."

"So that's how you did it." Naruto murmured, looking upon Igaram's torn sleeve that was also washed five times to get rid of the paint, and remembering Kotetsu's bleeding forehead. "So, it's not a devil fruit ability?"

"None, none at all." Miss Goldenweek guzzled down her tea. "However there is a weakness, if I try and Color Trap a strong mind it would prove difficult for me to control them, as opposed to that Straw Hat guy's simple mind."

"So...Kotetsu, Carmen, and Igaram here had weak minds." Naruto murmured to himself.

"Not necessarily. They put up a struggle, but it was due to their mental exhaustion from what I'm guessing was that sick guy was I able to take control of them, and do what I wished of them." The girl said in a happy tone, from the sugar hopefully.

"I see..." Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose tiredly. "I'll let you finish this up, do with her what you will...I'm going to take a nap or something." This was just getting too weird for him, he was gonna need to sleep on this information.

"Have a good rest Naruto, I believe we'll all handle it from here." Igaram waved the fishman goodbye as he went to sleep.

* * *

><p>The next day Naruto awoke to a sudden chill in the air. "By the love of Poseidon! God damn it!" He clutched the blanket tightly around his body, gnashing his teeth together to prevent them from chattering. He breathed out to see a sudden mist escaping from his mouth, stunning him quite a bit.<p>

"Kotetsu!" He yelled out upon exiting his room, fast and easy since he was still missing his door and ran up onto the deck. "Kotetsu, what is the meaning of...this?" He was greeted with white flakes littering a colorful deck, and Miss Goldenweek up in the crows nest fiddling with something with the rest of his hitchhikers looking upwards.

"All right, why is she still here?" Naruto asked.

"She never left." Kotetsu answered, his body bundled up in a blanket.

"Why is she jumping around like a hamster on coffee?"

"That is my fault." Igaram admitted, also bundled up in a blanket. "She drank three whole pots of my tea, and now she's on a sugar rush like none I have ever seen before."

Naruto observed Miss Goldenweek fiddling with some rope, and looked upon the deck seeing a cartoon version of himself with a bloated body, a rainbow, a sun with a smiley face, rain clouds, and a highly detailed treasure chest filled with gold and other goodies. "And the deck is scribbled in graffiti why?"

"Well apparently last night she decided that she hated the red and black color of the ship. So she decided to change the _depressing_ colors for something much more...happy." Carmen answered him, tightening a thick blanket over her body.

"And none of you tried to stop her?"

"I did," Bashura stepped up to reveal his tattooed face was completely panted white, and he took on the appearance of a panda, and the only one without a damn blanket. "This was the result, and none of them wanted to get painted like me."

"And where are the Unluckies?"

"They left after you went to sleep." Bashura shrugged, "Took their meal and flew away."

"One last question, now that I see most of you have blankets on. So, what the hell is going on? Why is it so cold?" Naruto asked through clattering teeth.

"We're nearing Drum Island, Cap'n." Bashura answered, futilely wiping at the paint on his face. "It's supposed to be an island covered in pure white snow with drum shaped mountains."

A sudden cold wind blew at them, causing Naruto to violently shiver. On the plus side, it blew away the fog that was obstructing the view of the the island to reveal it being bright pink in place of snow. "That don't look like white snow to me." He dully said.

"Hey Sharp-teeth!" Naruto looked up to see Miss Goldenweek hanging upside down, and waving at him excitedly, or was it her being high on sugar? He could not even remotely tell. "Look what I made!" She sprung up on along the edges and began running around along it, looking like a miniature tornado due to the high amounts of energy she was exerting.

Looking further up, Naruto's eyes widened in response. Flying from the top of the mast was a black flag. Pictured on it was his face; his skull to be precise, and his dorsal fin showing as well, with his infamous shark-like grin with two white bones crossed underneath the jaw. In the background was a blue spiral symbol that resembled a whirlpool with shark teeth on the inside of the of the lines of the whirlpool.

Miss Goldenweek made a flag, a Jolly Roger in his likeness.

"Fuck my life." Naruto palmed his forehead.

"Cheer up Sharp-teeth." Miss Goldenweek suddenly appeared in front of him. "Turn that frown upside down, or you will have a permanent scowl!" Before Naruto could do anything, he felt something wet upon his face, and ten seconds later his entire face was painted yellow, his eyes and mouth painted black. Carmen, Bashura, Kotetsu, and Igaram took one look at him and burst out laughing.

"I hate you guys, so...so much." Naruto hung his head, futilely hiding the painted on smiley face.

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Well here is another chapter folks! Their pirate flag is up, Miss Goldenweek has joined up for now, and they are on their way to get Gin fixed up because I am getting real tired of making one of my favorite characters acting like a pussy.<p>

Pvt. Leafninja: I think we all will be happy about that.

Lt. RasenganFin: Mhmm so what are you going to call yourself now that you're a pirate?

Armageddon: I am not calling myself anything other than Cutlass Black! And it will stay that way until I capture Liquor and my deserters!

Pvt. Shadowninja/DemonShifter: Hell yea, and about damn time we appeared!

Armageddon:...Yea, sorry about that. It's hard to keep track nowadays. But anyways folks, I'm on a roll now so expect more from me, from this and my other stories. And for those anonymous reviewers quit asking me questions! How the hell can I answer anything if you do not have an account. Folks, I will not answer anything unless it's an actual account on here. Thank you, good night. And remember, no less than five words. I want details people!

(1) If you know what that is from, the you Sir, or Madam are awesome

(2) It actually does translate to Sailor in the Greek language, and is a kind of mollusk. Naruto's just being stubborn as always.

(3) Okay, you have to admit Dorry and Brogy have been on that island for one-hundred years. Many pirates and sailors more than likely arrived at the place before and after them, and were more than likely killed or run off like it was said in the manga. Wouldn't it make sense for them to collect as many Log Pose's as they could so they can get travelers off the island faster? I know that's what I would do if I was a friendly giant.

(4) Animals react to people based on their emotions and personalities. I mean, they fondly react to good people, and react horribly to bad people...at least that's what my dog did when I was a kid. So, Bashura being a giant cat likes Naruto despite him giving them the cold shoulder because he sees something the others do not.

(5) Mr. 5 had the shit beaten out of him. I firmly believe that he and Miss Valentine would not be able to come due to his injuries, and being to damn scared of a psychotic fishman showing up and getting them. Seriously, they may be in the top five for the Officer Agents, but they still lost to both Zoro and Luffy while they were fighting each other!

(6) All right, I'm gonna level with you. Miss Goldenweek's Color Traps impressed me after reading the manga again, but she only had seven attacks, so Agurra and I came up with different colors for different effects. Continue reading and you'll see what they do.

(7) This was in Miss Goldenweek's "Operation: Meet Baroque Works" mini-series. Those two were captured by the Marines and bribed with hot bowl of donburi. And I'm not one to torture animals, even in stories like this. So, I stole the idea and used it in this. I believe it was all for the better.

(8) If you know who these guys are, then good for you.


	14. Someone call a Doctor!: Part Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. Come on folks, you know me by now, I just don't.

"Talk" Talking

'_Think_' Thinking

* * *

><p><em>The first human I ever met was Saint Mjosgard, a man I would later learn was related to the most horrific human scum on this earth. I do not say this out of racism, this man and his entire family are demons disguised as humans. Apparently he was a World Noble, and they were descendants of twenty old fossils that established the World Government.<em>

_At first glance he looked odd with that ridiculous hairstyle of his, but the words that sprang from his mouth were pure poison. He demanded a doctor, and various slaves that escaped from him to return with him, regardless if they wanted to or not. The crowd wanted to kill him, and I could not blame them for wanting to do it._

_They almost succeeded too. One bullet would have killed a menace to this world, but Queen Otohime took the bullet for him. I watched as her royal blood spilled to the ground from a shoulder wound, she preached, begged the citizens to not harm the noble for the sake of the children watching and not pass their hatred onto the next generation._

_Her reward for sparing the World Noble was nearly being shot by the same man she was protecting. _

_The next thing I knew...I saw red._

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, Naruto and the paint defiled, and battered, not to mention newly named <em>Nautilus<em> docked onto Drum Island. The entire island was freezing, the drum shaped mountains disappeared into the clouds, and oddly enough the snow was pink.

"A...all right, we get what w-w-e...need, an get the hell out. Agreed?" A slightly, yellow-faced Naruto asked his ragtag group of stowaways.

"Agreed." The ones who could stand agreed, each tightening their respective blankets tighter around their bodies.

Bashura, the only one who did not have a blanket on, and volunteer to stay behind to watch over Gin and the hyped up Miss Goldenweek lowered the gangplank of the ship down onto the docks. It didn't take long for the remaining crew of Naruto, Kotetsu, Igaram, and Carmen to run onto the deck, and all nearly slipping thanks to the ice and into the frigid water.

"Dammit! What ki-kind of hell is this place!" Naruto bellowed, moving what Bashura liked to call 'the flopping shark', as he tried to find his balance, and nearly falling on his ass.

"It's a winter island Uz-Uz-Uzumaki! Achoo!" Kotetsu sneezed, slipping, and falling flat on his face.

"Oh you men, it's all in positioning your weight properly." Carmen said, only slightly shivering.

"You are digging your heels into the icy wood, that does not count!" Naruto pointed at her hot pink high-heeled shoes digging into the ice.

"Whatever works. Come on we don't have time to waste, with each second your friend grows worse." Igaram trotted on with purpose, despite nearly slipping several times, ruining the image of a determined man.

The four managed to reach the end of the dock after a few minutes of slipping and sliding. They thought that sort of hell was done and over with. Unfortunately they were wrong. Out of the snowbanks, white-clad men and women popped out, and with the clatter rifles cocking back did the four realize this was some sort of ambush.

"Don't you move a muscle." One of the white, snow covered men said. "One step further, and we blast you."

"Ko-Kotetsu, explain this to me." Naruto demanded the swordsmen of the ship. "For a i-sland full of doctors, they seem to be...willing to kill us."

"Fu...fu...I don't know. My data is off by three years."

"Dammit. What the hell are you stopping us for? We just freaking arrived!" Naruto gritted his teeth from shaking so hard.

"We have not had good luck with pirates. The last lot were all right, but the rest nearly destroyed us." Another one answered, gesturing towards the flag. "Now either come with us or get the hell out of here."

_'Damn it Goldenweek, when you get down from that sugar high I am going to have some words with you, and that damn paint.'_ Naruto mentally cursed the more recent, and hopefully temporary stowaway of his ship.

"Listen this is all just a big misunderstanding." Igaram raised his hands up despite it being colder than hell. "We just found that flag this morning, if you would take us to-"

"No nothing! Get the hell out of-" Before the man could say anything further, the sound of steel scraping against a scabbard rang in their ears, and the next thing the assailants knew a small breeze blew to their right, and the barrels of their guns fell into the snow with a loud plop. What followed was an eerie wind that sent shivers down their spines, and it wasn't from the cold.

Turning their heads, a shivering Kotetsu sheathed Nidai Kitetsu. "Now you listen here. I'm tired, I haven't had a decent night sleep in weeks, and I'm freezing my balls off right now. I'm far from interested in dealing with this crap. Now get us your leader so we can get a damn doctor!"

"All right that is enough!" A commanding voice ended whatever violence was about to erupt.

They were greeted by an imposing man, with slicked black hair, and a goatee. His attire consisted of a long, white fur-lined green tunic and had armor plates on his arms, and long black boots. Strapped on his back was his weapon of choice, an extra-large spade, in a sheath that looked to be made of strong leather.

"Dalton, thank God you are here. Listen we have a situation regarding these pirates!" The man was rewarded with a kick to the face that sent him flying into the town.

"You fool! We advised you all to be cautious, not this!" The "flying" man was bellowed at be an old woman. Seriously, the woman was ancient. And yet she dressed in a style more suited to women one-seventh her age. That included a navel ring, short flower-print shirt with an exposed midriff, a purple blazer and hipster pants. Throwing back her long white hair, the woman moved her dark spectacles to the top of her head to expose regular spectacles. "And that goes for the rest of you! Escort these people to my office before they freeze to death!"

...Damn, this just got very weird, very fast.

* * *

><p>Not more than ten minutes later everyone, and I mean <em>everyone <em>from Naruto's ship was settled into Kureha's office within the village. Her office was massive, well furnished, and way better than what they had on their ship. Currently, Naruto, Kotetsu, Bashura, and Gin were sitting on their respective beds while the remaining three were off to the side, waiting for something to happen for their own amusement.

The woman, Doctor Kureha, while an old hag knew exactly what she was doing. Currently she was finishing up bandaging Kotetsu's chest after slathering some strong smelling cream on the burn he suffered from Mr. 5.

"All right, keep applying this to your chest three times a day." Kureha instructed the swordsman after handing him a vial of the horrific smelling stuff, plus another plastic container holding some sleep medication. "And these will help you sleep."

"I don't need to sleep." Kotetsu protested tiredly. "I am just freaking fine-"

"Oh no you're not." Kureha said, smiling eerily. "You got second degree burns on your chest, three cracked ribs, a bruised sternum and several cuts that need proper stitching or they will become infected, not to mention sleep deprivation by the obvious bags under your eyes. Now keep your ass in that bed so I can do what I've been doing since I turned twenty!"

"Yea...about that..." Kotetsu slowly got out of the bed and backed away towards the exit. "I'm not sure that a woman of your age should be putting stitches in me, I mean you are probably great..." Almost there, just a little more and he would be free. Cold, but free. "But...but I think that I rather test my luck with-"

He was interrupted when Kureha pulled a freaking iron frying pan out of freaking nowhere and nailed him right in the head, sending the tired swordsman into blissful unconsciousness. "You need to get some sleep you idiot!" The elderly woman hit him in the head one more time for good measure, freaking the remaining conscious members the hell out, especially when she grabbed him by his ankle and dragged him back to the bed.

"Gah! Away from me devil woman, keep your violent claws away from me!" Naruto attempted to bolt away, only to be met by the woman who used one of her legs to slam the door shut.

"Don't even think of running away son, you're not in the best shape either." The old woman said, pushing him back onto a bed. "Now stay still, or I will have to sedate you as well."

"You hit him with a damn frying pan!" The blond protested.

"To prevent him from harming himself any further." Kureha said impatiently. "The boy needs some sleep, sleep will help him heal."

"Sleep also induces nightmares." Bashura raised his arm awkwardly. "I, uh, hear him screaming and thrashing at night when I prowl around the ship."

"...You prowl around the ship at night?" Igaram dead-panned.

"I can't help it, it's my devil fruit that keeps me up at night." The savage-looking man protested. "Like a cat I enjoy fish, dairy, and sleeping in the sun. Half the time I'm up at night checking to make sure we don't get any intruders."

Again, Naruto began to question his sanity. Because a month ago he would not even tolerate that type of behavior, but now he found it...reassuring? Accepting? Crap, he was starting to like these guys. That was not good, nope, not at all.

"Well...continue the good work." That was all the fishman could say. Smooth Naruto, very smooth.

"Speaking of which let me get a look at you." Kureha made her way over to Bashura, and using her old, but steady hands she literally poked and prodded his body, testing for any signs of pain of discomfort. She checked his thighs to see well healed cuts that came from Kuro's Cat Claws, his intricate tribal tattoo's to see if there was any infection, and his muscle density. And just for the hell of it she swiped his top hat off his head to reveal a shaven head.

"Is that even necessary?" Their top hat-wearing navigator demanded, almost in an angry voice as he snatched the hat back and put it back on his head again. Naruto raised an eyebrow when he crossed his arms, and...pouted? Huh, looks like the big kitty cat didn't like having his hat touched.

"Not even remotely, I just wanted to see what was under there." Kureha said, pulling out a jug of plum sake from absolutely nowhere. Seriously, it was beginning to piss Naruto off. Was it a devil fruit or some other ability? (1)

After the woman wet her whistle, she saw Bashura moving to get out of bed. And surprising every conscious member in the room, she grabbed him by his left bicep and slammed him back onto the bed with wood rattling force. "Keep your ass in bed you idjet, that's doctors orders!"

"Y...yes ma'am." Bashura blinked several times to make sure he was not imagining he was just manhandled by an old woman. He wasn't, damn.

The old doctor then went over to a violently shivering Miss Goldenweek. It was obvious the girl wasn't cold, but it didn't help that it looked like she could vibrate through the bed at any moment. "All right, what happened here? I looks like this girl was given drugs or far too much sugar." She asked.

"That was my fault." Igaram raised his hand in confession. "To make a long story short, she was a former enemy and I gave her Alabasta Honey Sweet Tea as some sort of deal to give us information. She drank three pots of it."

"That would explain it. And I'm guessing she painted your faces." Kureha nearly cackled looking upon the remaining stains of paint that were on Bashura's and Naruto's faces.

"I don't want to talk about it." Naruto said through gritted teeth.

"Well I can solve this easily. First you cut her off." That caused the young woman to stop shaking, her eyes widening in horror. "Second..." Without any warning she stuck a needle into the Baroque Works agent in the arm, once again pulling it from nowhere. "This should clear it out of her system."

"What are you..." Miss Goldenweek did not have a chance to finish her sentence. A rumbling sound erupted from her stomach, and the next thing every one knew, she bolted from her bed and slammed the bathroom door shut.

"Give her ten minutes and she will be back to normal. All she's doing is purging her system." The old woman cackled before drowning more alcohol down her throat.

"Gross." Naruto murmured before noticing that the doctor was heading towards him next. "Oh no, I'm fine," He protested with false bravery. "Go check on Gin, he needs your expertise!"

Raising an eyebrow, Kureha turned towards Gin resting on one of the beds. "He's alive? I honestly thought you brought in a corpse." Curiosity peaked, she moved over towards the man and placed a palm on his forehead. "Ohh, he had quite the fever. What happened to him?"

"He used to be the Combat Commander for Don Krieg. He betrayed the man and breathed in MH5 poison gas as a result of punishment." Naruto gave her the simple version of what happened to his First Mate. "He has been infected with it for nearly two months now, is there a way you can save him?"

"Two months? This guy must have the will of a king to live this long." Kureha exclaimed in surprise. She then checked his arms, and saw that they had round teeth marks; clear signs that leaches were involved. "Who used leeches?"

"That was me." Bashura piped up.

"Fine work for an armature, but let me see what I can do." Kureha pulled out a syringe and drew a vial's worth of blood. Soon after she disappeared into the backroom, and by the sound of things she was running tests on a possible antidote, or any way to slow the poison running rampant in his blood.

"So...is it just me, or am I the only one finds this woman freaky?" Naruto question everyone in the room.

"You aren't the only one." Carmen responded, a light smile forming on her face. "I like her."

"Of course you like her. Right now she's the only one who's putting the most stubborn jackasses in their place." The blond fishman indicated towards the unconsciousness Kotetsu. "Or is it because we're finally getting our sorry asses patched up."

"A little bit of both." The chef confessed.

"I'm hoping to get some one on one time with her. Hopefully the Straw Hats and the Princess stopped by this island." Igaram said, nervously tugging on the loops of his tie. "I hope she's doing okay."

"I'm sure she's fine." Bashura assured the curly-haired man. "The crew she's with is strong and dependable. If anything we can catch up to them in three days if we don't get caught up in anymore delays."

"I hope so!" Carmen exclaimed tiredly. "If we keep getting into anymore trouble, I'm going to get premature gray hairs."

"Oh they aren't that bad." Kureha said upon entering the room. "In my honest opinion they make you more distinguished. Just look at me, I'm a too young one-hundred and thirty-nine year old woman, and I still feel fresh as a spring daisy."

Blatantly ignoring the fact he was talking to a woman that was older than dirt, Naruto managed to work up enough words to ask the diagnosis. "So...can you cure Gin?"

Kureha's face turned completely grave. "No, I cannot. He was poisoned by a plant only found in the Easy Blue. If I were going to cure him, I would have to send some of the Isshi-20 to Rubar Island. And even if they went their fastest it would take them a month for them to retrieve the plant and three days for me to work up a cure...and by then, your friend would be dead."

"Bullshit!" Naruto loudly protested, exploding off his bed, his body posture ready for conflict. "You're telling me that you cannot help him!?"

"If I had the plant I would have injected it into his bloodstream by now, and even then there was no possibility that he would make it. I'm sorry boy, there is nothing I can do for him here-"

"Then fuck you and your island! Bashura, when Goldenweek comes out grab Kotetsu. We're leaving." Getting off the bed the blond shook his head to shake off the anger that was nearing its bursting point. When he reached the door, he was met with Kureha's glare, and the next thing he knew he found himself sprawling on his bed again.

"Oh boy, you sure got a temper on ya." Kureha said before looking towards Bashura. "How do you all put up with him?"

"Oh, he's not that bad. The Cap'n is just stress out is all." The Cat man assured the old doctor. "Now, I believe you were about to continue your sentence?"

"Ah yes, thank you dear. As I was about to say, I know a doctor that's a poison specialist no more than a day of sailing from here. Sail south and you should reach the ship she's on." Kureha said, finishing what would have been good news if Naruto didn't nearly blow a fuse.

"Well then lets go, we don't have another second to waste then." Before Naruto could take command or do anything to leave once again, he found himself wrapped in gauze and tossed onto the bed for hopefully the final time. "Oh come on!"

"None of you are going anywhere, not tonight." Kureha said, patting her hands. "You got second decree burns on your forearms, several cuts on your arms and torso, and I am suspecting that you have some cracked bones. You're in need of a check up, boy."

"Ah, screw you lady. I don't need a human doctor to look at me, I'll wait until I get back to Fishman Island." Naruto retorted.

"Idiot! Without any proper care you could lose those arms, then what use will you be?" She demanded. "You put so much work into that body of yours, so much care that I find it admirable. But without it who could you protect? It's a doctor's Hippocratic oath to help their patients, no matter what species they may be, and whether they like it or not."

Naruto wanted to retort, say something racist, to do whatever he could to prevent any treatment from a human. But her words...they stunned him. What use would he be if he lost his arms? He worked his ass off to see Shirahoshi again, to protect her from Vander Decken and put a stop to his merciless terror towards her once and for all. If he lost them due to his foolish pride, and Hody Jones' teachings...then what would he be?

In that exact moment something changed inside him. A voice that was always urging him to disregard humanity, that roared as loud as a Sea King mating call fell to something more...quieter. And the words of Queen Otohime's lessons and how the human race could just surprise him rang true.

"...Just get it done." He said.

"Oh don't worry, this won't hurt a bit." Kureha smiled.

Unfortunately, that was a lie. Medicine can hurt quite a lot.

* * *

><p>Later that night nearly everyone that lived on board the <em>Nautilus <em>were either shacked up in a hotel, or resting in Kureha's office. The night was cold, the snow was pink, and most residents were either asleep or patrolling the island. The only three that were awake was our favorite blond fishman, the Captain of the Royal Guard or Alabasta, and a near century and a half old witch doctor. All three were located in the temporary town hall.

"Kureha, while I do feel better, I am just going to put it on the record that your treatment of patients are completely inhumane." Naruto grumpily commented, his eyes observing the wrappings on his forearms and resisting the urge to scratch his new stitches.

"Oh quit your complaining, boy." Kureha said before taking a swing of her plum sake. "You're lucky that I took care of you in time. Now, curly you were going to ask ask me about something, correct?"

"Ahem, yes. Miss Kureha, you would not happen to have met a pirate crew traveling with a blue-haired girl in the past few days? Would you?" Igaram asked, coughing once to cover up a growl for the curly remark.

"Pirate crew?" The old woman asked, lightly tapping her foot like she was in thought. "Oh yes, four days ago a pirate crew lead by an idiot in a straw hat came by to fix up their navigator. Ha! The girl managed to get herself infected with a disease that was long thought to have been extinct, had to use up the last vial of my NHC10 to cure her."

"Was she safe. Is she in good health!?" Igaram asked, almost frantically.

"Dammit, quit getting all worked up Curly. Let the woman talk." Naruto stopped the man from going onto another one of his worry rants. He had heard one too many already to even care about.

"Oh she was here. The crew she was with helped this country out of a jam when Wapol came back."

"Wait, wait, wait! Wapol?" Naruto interrupted her with frantic waving of his hands. "Wapol as in a big, fat, metal tub of shit asshole that caused a scene roughly eight or so years ago?"

"The very same one." Igaram growled lowly. "He struck the princess and nearly shot her. God, if it wasn't for the intervention of a young man...I don't know what would have happened."

"Yea I remember the guy, _I_ was the one that kicked his sorry ass into a stone column." Naruto said. "You're welcome by the way."

"That was...that was you?" Igaram's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "Naruto...I...I don't know what to say. You saved the Princess and prevented an all out war."

"And you knocked tin head down a few pegs." Kureha cackled lightly. "Dalton saw the whole thing as well. I must say, it took balls to do that."

"I did what I thought was right. He pulled a gun and...well I don't like firearms in general, so kicking him was the only logical thing to do." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Now, tell us where did they head off to? And why is the snow pink?"

"After they recruited my apprentice, they headed off towards Alabasta. As for the snow being pink...well that is a tale in itself." The old doctor said, pulling her sake jug to her lips.

"Well hold that thought, I need to get some fresh air." Naruto removed himself from the chair he was sitting in and headed outside. Upon opening the door, he was greeted by Dalton when he had his cigar half way to him mouth. "Uh...hey."

"Hello. You're the pirate from this morning correct?" Dalton greeted him with a smile.

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm a pirate. I'm the Captain of my ship, my First Mate and Navigator used to belong to pirate crews, and the newest one that we managed to pick up painted graffiti on my ship, and that pirate flag." The blond scratched his cheek. "It's complicated."

"It sounds like it." Dalton said, rubbing his chin idly. "And by the looks of you...you've been through some rough times ever since I first saw you during the Reverie."

"You got that right." The blond lit the end of his cigar and took a few puffs. "So, the Straw Hats came here and beat up your former king. Now what? Do you hold a vote to be your new leader or something?"

"Actually, the people of this island elected me to be the new King." The large man said.

"Oh." Naruto said after blowing out some smoke. "King Dalton of The Drum Kingdom...that doesn't have a nice ring to it."

"We're actually thinking of renaming it to The Sakura Kingdom." Dalton said smiling in thought. "It seems more appropriate with all this pink snow."

"...Sure why not." Naruto pulled the coat that was loaned to him tight against his body, by the seas he hated his weather. "You can take this snow and keep it."

"Haha! Your species probably never experienced snow before. But then again I doubt you even experienced much other than dry land and water. Why I remember seeing my first fishman when I was...actually it was during the Reverie. I must say, Jinbe was quite impressive." The new King said, accidentally giving out trivial information the blond never asked for.

"Uh, right. Well thank you for that." Naruto stamped out the cigar, suddenly losing the urge to smoke it. It was just too damn cold to enjoy it. "See you later Dalton."

"Goodnight Naruto." The big man said to his retreating form.

* * *

><p>The next day the crew of the <em>Nautilus<em> sailed south of Drum Island thanks to Kureha's advice. Clad in warm blankets and thick coats (purchased by Carmen) the recovering miscreants sailed with purpose in order to save Gin, and hopefully recruit a doctor to patch up their sorry asses whenever they got into a fight.

"So, Kotetsu you're looking a little better." Igaram commented the swordsman of the crew. "I hope you slept well."

"I slept like the dead. That crazy old woman nearly sent me into the afterlife." The sandy-haired teen rubbed his head irritably.

"Oh don't be so melodramatic. You needed your rest, and honestly you started to look like the living dead. A young man such as yourself needs plenty of rest." Igaram said, lightly waving him off.

"Sleep does not stop the nightmares. Every time I try to sleep, I see Master Mifune getting gunned down, Ai's blood coating my face, and all them men I've killed." He looked over to Naruto at the helm, steering the ship towards their destination. "I don't know how he can do it. He's killed...a great many people, and yet he sleeps peacefully at night."

"That's because he is a warrior, and has a goal to strive towards." The curly-haired man said, lightly leaning against the mast. "Not all men are meant to be warriors, Kotetsu. You can train all your life, but in the end some cannot just do it."

"And you know from experience?" The sandy-haired teen asked with a scoff.

"I do, actually." Igaram said, a dark look coming to his face. "Before Vivi was born, there was a skirmish in my country. Some...pirate crew, I forget their names tried to invade Alabasta. I was no older than you when I killed my first man, and I did it for days at a time until they retreated and never came back."

"You're kidding me." Kotetsu exclaimed in disbelief. "You don't look the type that seen hard battle."

"But I did. And for many years I lived with the guilt of killing those men, or failing to save my comrades. I had to do things in the Baroque Works that I will regret until the day I die, and probably many other things until I can finally live a peaceful life." After all, one did not become a Frontier Agent by luck, or Captain of the Royal Guard through connections. He earned all of it through sweat and blood.

"How did you live with yourself? How do you not have the nightmares?" Kotetsu was now wide-eyed, nearly to the point of begging.

"I found my peace in my wife, Terracotta." The man answered him, a smile soon came to his face from the happy memories of her. "She brought me from the brink, and makes what I do worth fighting for. Maybe that will help you, find something that you can be at peace with. It could be anything from simple meditation to eating your favorite food. Trust me if you are willing to work at it, the nightmares will stop."

"Igaram! Get your butt in here Goldenweek is going crazy!" Carmen called from the entrance of the ship that lead into the bowels where everything was stored.

"Oh my, pardon me." Giving the swordsman of the ship a nod, he left to help tend to Miss Goldenweek. The poor girl was in a state of withdraw from her sugar rush, while temporary, it required her to be...restrained.

Once Igaram left, Kotetsu blew a few strands of hair from his face and looked up towards the crows nest where Bashura was keeping an eye out. "Find my own peace. Hmm, its worth a shot." He murmured to himself.

"Goldenweek get back here!" That was the only alert the swordsman was granted before feeling something wet touch the back of his hoodie, and then collapsed over with a figurative cloud hanging over his head.

"Oh damn it, Goldenweek! Am I going to have to confiscate your paints again!?" Naruto barked upon seeing Miss Goldenweek paint one of her color traps on one of his lackey's again. Hey calling him that was a step up from a hitch hiker, or what ever the hell he called him in the earlier weeks.

"Keep away from my paints Sharp-teeth! I have paints and I am not afraid to use them!" Miss Goldenweek held out a wet paintbrush, dripping with gray paint out at the tiger shark fishman threateningly.

"Get real. Unlike Kotetsu or whoever else you fight, my mind is as solid as steel! There ain't no way you can get the drop on me!" Naruto proclaimed, focusing, and then manipulating the water in the sea the surge around him like a twister. "Bring it!"

"All right, that's enough." Igaram emerged from the ships entrance, grabbing Miss Goldenweek by the scruff of her jacket, and keeping well out of reach for her rapid, and desperate flailing. "I apologize Naruto, she got away before I could help restrain her."

"Just have her get that out of her system, She looks like a burned out junkie." With a swing of his arms, he broke up the water tornado, sending it back into the sea.

"I know what I must do." The big man said, also picking up a muttering Kotetsu who was crouched in the fetal position, and going back into the ship once again.

"Poseidon's beard. What am I going to do with them?" Naruto reached into his pouch, procuring a cigar for his nicotine fix. He was going to need it.

* * *

><p>The following day, the crew looked high, and low, or in Naruto's case; under water to find a trace of the ship their miracle doctor was on. They found nothing, not a single clue to where the doctor was.<p>

"I have a good mind to turn this ship around, and kick Kureha's disintegrating ass right into the sea." Naruto said, chomping in a half finished cigar. "We're at the right location, aren't we Bashura?"

"We went south and it took an entire day to get here." Bashura squinted his yellow eyes at the map, his large index finger tracing south from Drum Island to where they were currently located. "I see no island for the next hundred nautical miles."

"Not to mention we've been searching since the sun came up." Igaram butted in, "We only got a few more hours of daylight left before we have to turn in for the night. I'm afraid to say this, but we may have to think of-"

"If you say funeral arrangement, then I will rip your hair off your head." The blond threatened the man from Alabasta.

"I am just being realistic." Igaram raised his hands defensively. "He has been poisoned for roughly two months with little treatment. No one can live forever."

"No one is dying under my watch." Naruto gritted his sharp teeth harshly. He could not protect her back then, nor could he protect Shirahoshi from Vander Decken's insane, deranged, and so very wrong affections towards her.

So now, a part of him, the good part of him; Otohime's part of him was substituting his failure to protect both of them for these...misfits he was slowly beginning to take a liking to. Were they annoying? Yes. Were they turning him into a chronic chain smoker? Yes. Did they grate his nerves? Oh, hell yes. But he didn't necessary _hate_ them...as much anymore. So he would be damned if any of them died on his watch.

The other part...was not all too happy about that. But fuck that guy, he was not in control. The one who Captained the ship was dammit!

"Hey Uzumaki! I think I found something!" Kotetsu hollered from the crows nest.

Immediately turning his head towards the swordsman, the fishman immediately started climbing the ropes up the the crows nest. When he got there, he looked upon the swordsman. He was stiff as a board, pale as a white sheet, and resisting the urge to tremble from whatever he was looking at. "All right what do you got?" He asked.

"Something to the southeast." Kotetsu slowly handed him the brass telescope, pointing in the direction towards the object in question. "I think it's a ship."

Looking through the glass, Naruto's eyes widened. He saw a ship all right. A large ship who's hulls were painted sea-green blue, and the trimmings painted gold. Three masts lined the deck, white sails and black flag were painted with the Jolly Roger that had a large mustache and bones that resembled a cross behind it. It was the Jolly Roger of the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Holy shit." Naruto whispered.

"What do we do now? We can't just hail them." Kotetsu said.

"No...we won't." Shoving the telescope into Kotetsu's hands, the blond jumped from the crows nest, and dived into the sea.

"What the!? Damn it Uzumaki! Bashura, alert everyone the Captain's gone after one of the Whitebeard Pirates ships!"

"Are you serious!" The Navigator hollered up at him.

"I'm dead serious!"

"There goes the neighborhood." The Zoan-user palmed his face. His Captain must have had a suicide wish to go up against the strongest crew since Gold Roger roamed the seas.

* * *

><p>Under the sea, Naruto slowly circled the ship, calmly observing the bottom of it with keen interest. With one or two techniques, he could turn the ship into nothing but splintered lumber. But he was not planning on doing that; especially to a ship that belonged to Whitebeard.<p>

Kureha said their miracle doctor was one some ship a day from Drum Island. They were exactly one day from Drum Island, and there was a damned ship right were that crazy doctor said it would be. It was not all how he planned it to go down, hell he was hoping that they would run into a wandering hermit sailing on a schooner or something.

Oh well, nothing in his life ever came remotely easy. So why the hell would it start now?

Flipping once in the water, the blond faced up towards the ship, while his feet faced the bottom of the near infinite deep blue depths. He focused on the water around himself, manipulating it to his will. Then when it was at its peak, he unleashed it!

It the span of five seconds Naruto shot out of the sea like a bullet. A waterspout followed him soon after raining, raining upon the ships deck and the unsuspecting henchmen that were working on it. The blond landed gracefully-or as gracefully as a person could when landing feet first on the bow of a ship, that more of less made it rock violently, causing more than a few people to fall straight on their asses or faces.

"Freeze! Don't move a damn muscle!" One of the Whitebeard pirates screamed. He was pretty nondescript, average-looking. Oh, and he was pointing a flintlock rifle right at Naruto's face.

He was rewarded with the blond grabbing the barrel of the gun, and with a simple twist of his wrist, he bent the barrel of the gun in a three-hundred and fifty degree angle. The pirate let out a squeak of fear seeing the barrel of his own gun pointing right at him.

"Shut it, and get that disgusting gun out of my face." Naruto pushed the man away, and manipulated the water out of his clothes and onto the deck. "Now, someone get me Whitebeard, or one of his Commanders!"

"Ah geez, you're just as flashy as the day I met ya." A voice alerted the tiger shark fishman. Emerging from the bridge of the ship.

"Holy shit. It's you!" Naruto actually smiled for the first time in a month since his fight with Arlong.

The person he was talking to was a light gray-skinned, unidentifiable type of shark fishman, with his shark-teeth sticking out of his mouth from his lower jaw similar to his teacher, but unlike Jinbe he had three small teeth on each side instead of one large, a shark fin protruding from his back, black eyes with bags under his eyes, and three pairs of gills on his neck.

He was somewhat short and rotund in shape, and his hair was arranged in spikes pointing upwards. He had the number eight tattooed to the left side of his neck to represent the division that he leads. He also wore a white t-shirt with sky blue sleeves with an orange colored star logo for the Criminal clothing brand on his chest. A belt secured his gray pants, and he carefully stepped over one of the men, being extremely careful to not step on them with his bare feet.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I am honestly surprised to see you on my ship." Namur greeted his fellow fishman with a wave of his right webbed hand.

"Namur. You are just what I wanted to see." Well either Ace, Vista, Thatch, Jozu, or Marco, hell he would have taken Whitebeard himself. Any of those guys would have helped him, but Namur was probably what he needed at that exact moment. "First, I apologize for my entrance."

"And doing this to my men." The Eight Division Commander gestured to his men.

"That too. But I find myself in a bit of trouble." Naruto scratched the back of his head, and gestured towards his ship in the distance. "I don't know if you know this. But I'm apparently wanted by the World Government."

"Yes, I've seen the latest wanted posters. Forty-five million beli, not bad for a first bounty. Plus killing Arlong and his entire crew, and two Marine Captains plus a bunch of Marines with various ranks." Namur nodded his head in recognition. "You know I never liked Arlong. He gave fishmen like us a bad name."

"Damn right he did, but that's not why I come to you guys. I got a guy who has been poisoned and he doesn't have much time left. Now this old crazy hag named Kureha pointed us this way, so please tell me you have a doctor that is a master poison curer."

"I got just the person. Go get your crew, and I'll prep the doctor."

* * *

><p>"All right Uzumaki, I think we are owed an explanation." Kotetsu said nearly thirty minutes into Gin's lifesaving procedure. Leaning against a wall in the room they were provided for their stay with both his hands clutching Nidai Kitetsu by the sheath, he stared at the blond fishman with a scrutinizing stare.<p>

"I don't gotta explain anything." Naruto replied, leaning back against a chair loosely.

"Actually," Carmen spoke up, "I think you do. From what our resident swordsman told us, you jumped into the sea, and invaded one of Whitebeard's ships and did not end up dead as a result. In fact that you managed to get them to help us is another matter entirely. I think we deserve to know something."

"I will have to agree, Cap'n. It will at least kill some time." Bashura added his input, just for the sake of arguing.

"Oh very well." Naruto sighed out, giving into their demands for knowledge. "As some of you already know, I got into a fight with "Fire Fist Ace" and he beat me." He got nods from Kotetsu and Bashura, but wide-eyed, blank stares from both Carmen and Igaram. "Well, it was not some random encounter on the sea, nor did we bump shoulders and start fighting like brutish gorillas, it was more...well I better start from the beginning."

The tiger shark fishman then told them about him becoming an apprentice to Jinbe; The second Captain of the Sun Pirates, and Shichibukai, leaving out the _event_ with Otohime's assassination and exactly why he became his student. They did not need to know his connection to the Royal Family, not one damn bit. He briefly told them that he trained under the man while learning how to fight in the Fishman Karate Dojo, then when he was just fifteen years of age, Jinbe took him on an "assassination mission" to kill Whitebeard. But instead of killing the man, Jinbe drank and talked important business with the man.

That left him to wander the _Moby Dick_ for a spell before following Namur and intruding on his bullshiting with five other Commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates. Just to gauge a reaction he listed off "Marco the Phoenix", "Diamond" Jozu, Thatch, "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace, and "Flower Sword" Vista as the people he met with. After their seeing a near shit-your-pants look from all of them, he began telling them the...confrontation.

He described in explicit detail of their fight. The heat of the Flame-Flame Fruit, the feeling of losing his teeth, the entire slugfest at the ending of the fight. He smiled through it all, it was his first loss, and it was still refreshing. It taught him that he was not even remotely invincible, and got him to train harder until the day they met for their rematch.

"And that's what happened, any questions?" Naruto asked after finishing his story. Upon seeing their faces he let out a burst of laughter. They looked absolutely stupefied, and he loved it!

"I, uh, you met Whitebeard? _The_ Whitebeard?" Igaram asked, his right eye twitching.

"Duh, you got corn in your ears?" The blond sighed at the question. He was not going to tell the story again.

Before anymore questions could have been asked, the door to their room flew open.

They were greeted by a fair-skinned woman of average height with a slender build with black eyes and hair. Her hair was straight and shoulder-length with bangs that covered her ears and framed her face. She was wearing a figure hugging white nurses outfit with a satchel around her waist.

"Good news," She greeted them with a smile. "Your friend is going to live-"

"All right, about damn time we got some good news!" Naruto cheered in exhilaration, finally that was a load off his shoulders. Gin was not gonna die, and he had his First Mate back. That meant many things, mainly Gin could finally take up some responsibilities again.

Seriously, running a ship was more work than he ever thought it would be.

"But..." The nurse continued, a little miffed from being interrupted. "He's not out of the woods just yet. I need to keep my eye on him just in case he takes a turn for the worse."

Oh hell no, she was not going to say what he thought she was gonna say. Naruto's stomach suddenly had a sour feel to it, it always happened when something was royally going to screw him over.

"So, I'm afraid that he will have to stay here for the time being." And there it was, damn it.

"I'm afraid that can't happen." The blond fishman said. "You see, he's the First Mate. And leaving him with you guys is...just not an option, and neither can I just replace him. He's far too valuable." He was not afraid to admit that, Gin knew more about how to run a ship than he ever would in two lifetimes.

"I see no other options, I cured him of his ailment. And I'm the only one in the entire area that can take care of him." The woman said, crossing her arms under he decent sized bust. "It's either leave him here, or at least wait for him to heal properly, and that could take a few weeks."

"We don't have weeks." Igaram said, his voice nearly squeaking at the mere thought of leaving Vivi alone for that amount of time. Cobra would kill him! "Naruto, I fear we-"

"Finish that sentence, and I will make sure you never grow your hair back." Naruto threatened the man before turning away and pushing past the nurse. "I got an idea, you're all just going to hate me for it."

Kotetsu's eyes widened. "Oh no, Uzumaki you're not seriously gonna-" Too late, his Captain was already out the door.

"Kotetsu, what is he going to do?" Bashura raised a non-existent eyebrow in confusion.

* * *

><p>Not a few minutes later, Namur looked at his fellow fishman within his cabin with a bewildered expression. "You cannot be serious."<p>

"Does it look like I'm kidding?" Naruto pointed at his face. He was dead serious.

"Naruto, you're not that bad of a guy. I will fully admit that, but Shizune (2) needs to stay on our ship. She isn't our only doctor mind you but...well she found us and demanded we take her back to her master." The Eighth Division Commander shrugged his shoulders.

"Her master? Is she a part of the Whitebeard Pirates?" Putting the discussion of taking her off to the side for now, Naruto crossed his thick arms over his chest, tilting his head in question. He just had to hear this.

"Yes, been apart of it for nearly six years now. In fact, she was the one who healed you after you got your ass kicked by Ace." Namur said.

"Wait, the blond-haired one? Looked to be in her late twenties, small purple diamond tattoo on her forehead? Kind of bitchy?"

"The same exact one." Namur tapped his nose, showing that he was correct. "That girl is her only apprentice, taught her what she knew, and then abandoned her in a small town. We found her no more than a month ago, and brought her on so she can see her again. We just can't, you know, give her to you just like that."

Oh, so that was the reason. Huh, Naruto placed his chin into his right hand and rubbed it in thought. It seemed that they were at an impasse.

Finally, after several long, and suffocating minutes. The cogs in his head started turning in Naruto's head, chipping off the cobwebs and rust from the lack of use before an idea popped into his head. It was not the best one in the world, but it was better than sitting with their thumbs up their asses.

"Well, hear me out. We need a doctor quite badly, and it _has _to be her. So, why don't we contact Whitebeard himself?" Naruto suggested.

"Contact Whitebeard? Are you nuts?" Namur asked.

"A little bit." The tiger shark fishman shrugged his shoulders. He had to be considering his situation. "But I have a deal for him. He'll hear me out at least."

"Hmm, true. He is always willing to talk to potential allies." And Namur knew from experience, The Strongest Man in the World did not earn that title by just punching people. He made deals, alliances, the whole ten yards until he was the man closest to One Piece. "Give me a minute and I'll help you with that."

Namur left his cabin, leaving the blond to look around the room, finding it very...plain. It had a simple bed, one chair, a bookshelf that was filled with thick books, and a closet that was full of clothes. That was it. But then again it was unlike his room that was in some need of repair, and filled with the deceased Captain Kuro's furniture. Seriously, he needed to get that changed out one of these days, it was just creepy that he was sleeping in a dead man's bed.

A few minutes later, his fellow fishman came back into the room, carrying in his right hand a Den Den Mushi with a prominent crescent-shaped mustache on its face, and Whitebeard's Jolly Roger painted on the sides of his shell.

"All right. Here you go." He handed it to Naruto. "I told him the gist of whats going on. The rest is up to you."

"Thank you, Namur." Looking at the odd device, he spoke to it. "Uh, hello? Whitebeard, you there?"

"_Naruto my boy! It is good to finally hear from you."_ Whitebeard's strong voice echoed through the room. _"What's this I hear you getting a crew together? Is that true?"_

"It's a little more complicated than that, but long story short I have a crew member down from poisoning and I need the girl that cured him. I assume Namur told you the situation?"

"_He has_, _it's an odd situation I will admit. But I think we can negotiate something."_

"Yes, Whitebeard. I need her badly so I am willing to make a wager. Either way, we both get what we want."

"_Go on, you got my attention."_

"I propose three fights. Three of your fighters against me and my crew. If we win we get Shizune, at least until we run into her old master that I'm guessing is residing with you. But if you win...well we still get her with the same conditions, but me, and my entire crew become your newest sons."

Things got awfully silent after that. A bold deal, something that was not the most common occurrence in the world anymore. Whitebeard took in anyone he desired at his leisure, this was the first time someone actually _bet_ on it.

"_We got a deal. Give me a few hours, and some of my sons will join up at Namur's location. Make sure it's somewhere on land."_

"Glad we could have this talk Whitebeard." Naruto thanked the powerful pirate Captain before handing the snail to a wide-eyed Namur, and walked out the door to inform his crew of miscreants of how screwed they could be.

* * *

><p>"You did fucking what!" Normally Igaram never cursed, he had not since he was a young soldier, and stopped when Vivi was born. But what Naruto just told them was just...just...inconceivable!<p>

"I saw it coming, unfortunately." Kotetsu sighed.

"In theory it is sound, but us losing is quite...well I don't know what I could do being part of the Whitebeard Pirates." Carmen confessed. "Plus, he said "sons", I don't think he needs daughters."

"From what I heard, he has pirate allies that are women." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "So you could be a daughter."

"I don't care about him having sons or daughters! We cannot join him! I cannot be a pirate!" Igaram was practically on his knees, his hands tearing at his hair. "All I wanted to do it get home to Alabasta and stop Crocodile. I cannot do this as a wanted man."

"Igaram, for the love Poseidon. Shut up, listen it is not the most ideal thing in the world. But it's a win-win situation for all of us. Win or lose, we get a doctor and Gin gets back to health. If we lose, we join the Whitebeard Pirates. I can probably haggle you out, but the rest of us will keep to the deal no matter how much it pisses you off." Naruto explained to the curly-haired man, again shrugging his shoulders. "Like I said, it's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it."

"You're insane." The Captain of the Royal Guard sighed out in exasperation.

"Well, sanity is overrated." Naruto said a little too smugly.

* * *

><p>Three hours passed since the talk with Whitebeard. In that time two more ships arrived at a small deserted island with hundreds of palm trees for the impending fights. Tensions were high, uncomfortably high, and that was the way Naruto wanted it. He found that he always fought better when the stakes were high, making him prone to less screw ups, and more focused. It was how he endured the sadistic tests Suikazan Fuguki to reach level forty, and now he was going to employ it in his fight.<p>

Currently, Naruto was leaning against a palm tree, arms crossing his chest, and his crew of misfits surrounding him. Kotetsu, like always was clutching the hilt of Nidai Kitetsu. Bashura's massive hands were gripping the haft of his harpoon. Both Carmen and Igaram were settled on the side lines, Miss Goldenweek was there as well, but she was shivering from her withdrawal symptoms.

On Namur's side, a bunch of his men were looking on in interest with the Eight Division Commander at the head of it, and an annoyed-looking Shizune with her cheeks puffed out by his side.

"So, here we are Namur. I see two other ships, but none of the crew occupying them." Naruto impatiently stomped his foot against the soft sand. "Are they coming or what?"

"Oh, they are coming. They just like to take their sweet time." Namur replied, a confident smile adorning his face. Oh, Naruto didn't like that smile one bit.

At that same exact moment, two dozen men emerged from the forest of palm trees, and the man that commanded emerged like a foreboding shadow.

He was a tall, well at nine foot eight, muscular, broad-chested, tanned man with a curly black mustache and a dark blue top hat on top of his black curly hair and an earring in each ear. He wore a semi-open dark blue shirt with a white diamond stripe pattern near the top that revealed some of his hairy chest, as well as a cape that matched the color of his shirt and white gloves. He was also wearing light blue pants with a belt that held two sword sheaths.

"Vista!" Naruto greeted the giant swordsman. "By the seas, I never thought I would see you here."

"Uzumaki, is that really you?" Vista laughed kindheartedly when his black eyes looked upon the fishman. "I cannot believe it! It really is you. Namur, you neglected to tell me that I would be fighting against his crew."

Namur gave the Commander of the Fifth Division an amused smirk. "I figured it would be a delightful surprise."

"Haha! It certainly is delightful." Vista settled his gloved hands upon the purple hilts of his blades. "While I wished we could meet under different circumstances, we might as well get on with it. Who will I be fighting?"

Before Naruto could speak up on exactly who would fight first, Kotetsu moved in front of him, "That will be me." He declared.

"Kotetsu. You sure about this?" Naruto asked their resident swordsman.

"Vista is one of the strongest swordsmen in the world. Did you really think I would pass up the opportunity to fight a man of his caliber?" The sandy-haired teen questioned before strutting to the middle of the field.

Vista's looming shadow soon covered Kotetsu's slim body. By now most men would have been running to change their pants, but not the former Ensign. His hands tightened around his swords in anticipation, all of his training came down to this.

"You..." Vista bent over to look at his opponent, frowning. "I know you. The Butcher of Iron Island."

"The only people I butchered were the Marines. They attacked first." Kotetsu narrowed his eyes. That was a greatly sore subject for him. "Don't tell me you buy into the lies the Marines cooked up to frame me, and cover up their atrocities."

The giant swordsman was silent for a long moment. He peered into Kotetsu's pale gray eyes, judging the soul of his character. His frown turned into a smile. "No. You do not strike me as the mass-murdering type...but there is something inside you." He unsheathed two swords, a pair of similar-looking sabers. "Lets see what that is."

Vista swung his blades, a halfhearted attempt to separate his head from his shoulders. It was an easy attack to duck under, and Kotetsu used that to leap to the side, feet sliding in the sand and drawing his Marine-issued cutlass into his left hand.

"Mirage Sword Style: Trial of the Three Path!" Bursting forwards using the power of his devil fruit, Kotetsu lashed out with his left arm, like many other times, his arm moved so fast it appeared that he had three arms instead of one. His sword swung towards Vista's torso, even if he could parry with two swords, there was a twenty-five percent chance he could have blocked it.

However, this wasn't some run of the mill Marine, or pesky pirate. This was one of the Strongest men in the world. He didn't even come close to striking his torso, instead his cutlass was easily blocked by one of the man's sabers. A stab came from Vista's remaining sword, something Kotetsu could barely avoid in time, and he still received a nick to his right side for all his trouble.

"What the...how?" He demanded.

"You think you're fast enough to fool my eyes?" Vista demanded with a wide smile. "I fought Dracule Mihawk many years ago, and you don't even come one tenth to matching his speed."

From the sidelines Naruto winced. Ouch, that was one hell of an insult. Kotetsu was one of the fastest people he had ever seen, not to mention his devil fruit was based around high speeds. And to be told that...well even his pride was hurt, and he was not the one fighting.

And indeed, Kotetsu felt a mighty sting to his pride. Ever since he accidentally ate the devil fruit that gave him his powers, he practiced thousands of hours to become the fastest person on the island, and eventually the fastest person in the Marines. To the Seamen Recruits and a few Commanders, he was considered the fastest of his position, so fast that he left after images. A fact that he took great pride in.

But now, against a man of Vista's stature, he felt as powerless as a fish flopping on land.

But...

Kotetsu gripped his cutlass until his knuckles turned white, and unsheathed Nidai Kitetsu with his right hand. Even if he was considered slow, that did not mean he would give up so easily!

"Nidai Kitetsu?" Vista, for the first time since the fight started dropped his guard. "How did you get in possession of a cursed sword? Better yet how are you still alive?" Every swordsman worth his or her salt knew the legends about the three swords that claimed more lives then a plague; or so they compared them to it.

"It chose me." The sandy-haired teen responded, eyes hardening from the memory of how he exactly came into its possession. "The day I got him, he spoke to me, and had allowed me to wield him until the day I die."

"I'll be damned." Vista said, eyes brightening up and a grin crossing his face. That may have sounded insane to many other people, but to him, it made perfect sense. "Come on then, show me how you use it!"

"Mirage Sword Style: Moon's Gentle Touch!" Kotetsu hollered before literally disappearing into thin air. Many blinked at the young man's sudden disappearance, and gasped when he appeared at Vista's side, both blades poised to cut into him.

Vista snapped back into his stance, blocking the attack again, rotating his body, and interlocking their blades and sending against one of the palm trees. Kotetsu hit the trunk of the tree feet first, bent his knees, and ricochet right off of it, and back towards his opponent.

"Mirage Sword Style: Moon Wheel!" Kotetsu spun both his swords like saw blades. The two swords spun so loudly that it made loud whistling noises as they cut the air. When he was barely a foot away from Vista, he quickly increased the speed, creating crescent shaped blades of air that resembled crescent moons.

The attack hit Vista hard, sounds of screeching steel caused several members of the audience to cover their ears to cancel out the noises. It ended, and failed spectacularly. It failed to harm the Fifth Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and it failed to even move him from his spot.

Vista retaliated. His swords moved in a blaze of blinding metal, that not even Bashura with his keen eyes could keep track. The strikes hit Kotetsu with such forced that he was literally propelled backwards. His tan hoodie and navy blue shirt became nothing but rags, small wounds opened up on his slim, but athletic torso, and he hit the sand with a harsh jolt that stole the breath from his lungs.

"Kotetsu, are you okay!" Igaram bellowed with worry. From the start the fight had not gone in his traveling companion's favor, his magnificent speed was all but useless against a man with much more experience, and he could not land a blow on him at all. It definitely put a grave emotion in his stomach.

"Fine...ow...not really." Kotetsu coughed raggedly. Looking down he saw shallow cuts adorning his torso and arms, sluggishly bleeding to the helm of his pants. They hurt, but they weren't life threatening. It was another insult, Vista could have easily killed him, he was practically toying with him now.

That made Magara very, very mad.

Vista let out a small yawn of boredom. "Come on lad! Stop holding back, I rather not fight someone who restrains himself!"

The younger swordsman harshly gritted his teeth. He tried getting up, but his body protested, it told him to stay down. To quit. To live and fight another day.

"Kotetsu!" Naruto barked out for the first time since the fight started. "I do not ask much of you. You know this perfectly well, but we cannot afford for you to hold back! Do what you need to do, unleash _it_!" Never before had he given an order to any of his hitchhikers that would conflict with their moral beliefs, but the stakes were too high. As powerful as Whitebeard was, he did not want to be in his crew. Not when he had to get home, not only would Shirahoshi cry that her brother was never coming home, but Hody would probably kill him.

Eyes widening, Kotetsu's head turned towards the sky. Not a single cloud was obscuring the blue sky, the white sun beaming down on his battered, bleeding body. To unleash Magara was a war crime in itself, and he would rather die that willfully bring him out.

_'Well, we all have to die sometime.'_ He mentally sighed. It took all his concentration and effort just to lift himself to his feet. He was shaking from the pressure, blood pumping down his body faster now. He stabbed his cutlass into the sand, and cupped his left hand under his naval. Hot blood pooled into his hand.

With only a bit of hesitation, he splashed the blood onto his face, enacting sounds of disgust from the Whitebeard Pirates on the sidelines. But he didn't care, or more specifically _Magara_ didn't care. Kotetsu didn't tremble like the previous times his psychotic other self emerged, he simply regressed back into his head, ashamed as his other half came out.

Magara opened his eyes, revealing constricted pupils that showed absolutely no mercy or sanity, and his psychotic grin came to his face once more. The face of insanity, he loved to call it that.

"_Well, well, well. Looks like the pussy finally gave in."_ Magara said, bursting into high, hysterical laughter. _"About fucking time! Fish-guy I could kiss you for freeing me, but I rather tear this guys guts out and skip rope with it!"_

"Captain...what is that. No, who is that!?" Carmen asked, eyes wide as saucers, and dread filling her entire body.

"It's Kotetsu, or his other half at least. It's a long story, but he's in control...I think." That did not fulfill any confidence in her at all.

"Are you sure? This is...I'm glad I went to the bathroom before this." Igaram cleared his throat, not minding at all that Miss Goldenweek was hiding behind his legs. He wanted to hide behind something too.

"I can restrain him." Naruto said, glancing at Bashura by now looking intensely at the fight by now. Not a lick of fear was in him, that was good at least.

On the sidelines, Shizune clutched at her heart, and her body began to shake. "Namur...are you seeing what I'm seeing?" She asked the Eight Division Commander.

"I-I honestly don't know." Namur admitted. He had been up and down the Grand Line dozens of times, and fought in the New World against pirates that would eat your bones for breakfast, but never before had he encountered anything like this.

"It's-it's the most severe case of multiple personality disorder that I have ever seen in my life." As a girl, her master Tsunade (3) trained her in everything that could be taught. From identifying cholera to curing poison. She also taught her about mental conditions, and Kotetsu was the worst case she had ever seen in her life.

"What could have happened to make him snap like that?" Namur wondered.

"Intense trauma most likely." The doctor replied. "He could have been born with it, and it lay dormant inside him until something happened to unleash it." Oh she hoped that Vista won now. Being a bargaining chip was bad enough, but to go over to them now...she shuttered to think about it.

Even in the field Vista, a longtime veteran of the seas was feeling a bead of sweat beading up on his forehead. The blood lust radiating from the kid was nauseating, he took a quick glance over towards the men he brought with him, and saw that they were holding their stomachs in discomfort.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Magara tilted his head at an unnatural angle, his smile making him look like a man possessed. _"Who me? __**I**__ am the thing inside this fucknut. __**I**__ am the guy that claims ownership over Nidai Kitetsu. And __**I**__ am the monster that butchered all those Marines on Iron Island! Hahaha! Man, that was a good day."_ He pointed at his head, index finger digging into his temple. _"Sissy cuntbag here hesitated, could not bring himself to kill anyone, not then, and certainly not now. That is why I'm here, to be the bad guy, to "spare" him from bloodying his hands again. Bah, if he wants to hide, then let him hide. He still knows what I do." _The psycho then began to giggle, like he just told a joke. A vile, disgusting joke. _"But that does not really answer your question does it? Well my new stab sack, you can call me **Magara**!"_

Vista got into a ready stance. His smile long gone by now, now was not the time to be playing around like he was earlier. Now it was time to act.

Magara glared, then disappeared. He appeared at Vista's back, stabbing towards his kidneys. Vista defended himself from the attack, and retaliated by quickly turning and striking at the young man. Magara jumped into the air, somersaulting at an attempt to into his thick neck, which ended up being another easily blocked attack.

"_Blood Sword Style: Eight Ways to Die__!"_ Magara screamed. Drawing on the power of the devil fruit, the madman struck at Vista, desiring to puncture his vital areas and bathing in his blood. He struck for the liver, Vista blocked it, he went for his lungs, also blocked, the heart, arteries, everything was blocked. The psychotic swordsman was beginning to get really angry. He jumped to impale his back, only to be deflected and tossed away like trash.

Magara slammed into the same tree Kotetsu rebounded off earlier. But instead of bouncing off of it, he crashed through it, and several others, scattering the onlookers.

"This...is still not looking good." Naruto sourly commented.

"You think?" Igaram responded, a little harsher than he intended. "We have lost this round."

"Not yet." Bashura held up one beefy hand. "Duck!"

"_Blood Sword Style: Bloodstained Lotus!" _When the name of the attack was heard, everyone minus Vista dove for the ground. A powerful blade of energy flew from the forest, cutting down many trees. A second blade of energy soon followed. The second blade struck the first one, and shattered it, unleashing a massive swarm of shards that resembled a giant energy lotus flower.

Vista took the attack head on. His sabers cut the shards into pieces, dispersing them into nothingness. But for all his skill, he could not block the hundreds of shards, a few cut into his outfit, and one or two actually cut into his skin. He felt no pain, only focus.

The attack ended no more than thirty seconds late, but it felt so much longer. Few beads of sweat actually fell from his face and exposed chest, he felt a cut or two upon his arms and legs. It had been years since he had been harmed in any way, a notch of respect went towards his opponent, but also dissatisfaction as well. It wasn't the _true_ swordsman who made him bleed, but an abomination of a broken spirit.

"I must say, I am impressed." Vista said to Magara, He looked down to see that he slid five feet from where he had been standing the entire time since the fight started. "You actually made me move."

"_Like I give a damn, up and die mustache needle-dick!"_ Magara hissed as he emerged from the torn down forest. He could not believe his strongest attack was blocked, dispersed even by this man. And worse off he killed no one, that was bullshit!

"I was not talking to _you_. Rose Round Dance!"(4) Jumping backwards and swinging his swords, Vista launched several red rose petals that flew towards his opponent. Magara could not even remotely dodge int time and was caught up in the technique. He screamed as the rose petals pelted him, cutting into his skin and sending him to the ground in agony.

Calmly, Vista walked over to his downed opponent. He approached the young man, bleeding, shaking from exhaustion, and on the edge of consciousness slowly rise to his feet. He let out ragged breaths, eyes glaring defiantly at him. However it was not Magara that was glaring, it was Kotetsu.

A smile came to the old swordsman's face. Even after all of that punishment and surviving one of his attacks, the kid stood back up. His swordsman spirit was strong, one day he would prove to be one of the greatest of his generation.

"You fought well Kotetsu." Vista congratulated him. "I am proud to say you have been a thorn in my side. You can go a long way, but only if you conquer your fear."

Kotetsu said nothing. Both his cutlass and Nidai Kitetsu clutched in his bleeding hands, he tried to lift his arms. Tried to continue the fight. He could not lose now. "I will not go down like this." He hissed through his teeth.

Vista's smile widened. "That's what I would expect from a true swordsman." Without any warning, the giant man's arms moved faster than anyone could see. A whooshing sound a second later, followed by the sounds of swords sheathing in their scabbards.

"Wha?" Hot white pain erupted from him, Kotetsu looked down to see a giant red X carved into the front of his body. "Shit..." His legs gave out, he turned his head to see the eyes of his Captain staring at him. "Sorry Uzumaki...I failed." And then Kotetsu knew no more.

"Kotetsu!" Naruto exploded from his downed position. Turning the swordsman over, he saw a good amount of blood falling from the blow dealt to him through all the sand that clung to him.

"He will not die." Vista said to Naruto when he reared his head, snarling. "The wounds are deep, but he will live. Perhaps it will give him incentive."

The blond did not answer. Even as the doctors removed Kotetsu's unconscious body from the field, trying to desperately remove the swords clutched in his iron grip, he could not help but get a bad feeling about all of this.

The first loss was theirs.

* * *

><p>Armageddon: Hello my adoring fans! I am glad to present you the latest chapter to Spiraling Shark! Now normally I would have my lovely band of not-traitors being jackasses with me, but I don't got that much time left for this day. So I will leave off with a few things in case you are curious. This chapter was not a spur of the moment thing, but a carefully planned idea between Agurra and I. This will show that our characters are not all that invincible, as shown with Kotetsu here. They can still get their asses kicked, badly I might add.<p>

I don't want it to be left on a cliff hanger, but I figured that this will keep you all coming. After all I got two more fights lined up, and they are planned so I do not need suggestions. Now have a Happy Fourth of July, I know I sure as hell will!

(1) I know it isn't a Devil Fruit ability. That old bat is just a master of hammer space. Man I would love that power.

(2) Finally the big reveal! As you guessed their doctor will be the lovely Shizune. *Everyone woos and catcalls* One way or another she will join the crew full of misfits, but what shall it be, them as pirates under Whitebeards flag? Or her being borrowed because of the bet? Stay tuned to find out!

(3) Yes, if any of you looked or paid attention for chapter four, the busty nurse that healed Naruto was indeed Tsunade. She will make another appearance, but it will not be anytime soon.

(4) That is Vista's only named attack, and I only learned this recently by watching the anime. Now I checked the wikia and saw that the attack's effect is unknown, so I just made it up. It will be changed depending on the continuity of the manga if we ever see Vista again, but that will not be for many, many, many years.


	15. Someone call a Doctor!: Part Three

I do not own Naruto or One Piece. If I did Naruto That is all I can say.

"Talk" Talking

_'Think'_ Thinking

Authors Notice 4-5-15: Hello my fans, my adoring, insanely patient fans. I'm uh, late. Very late I guess. I know you may not wish to hear an excuse but this is one of fuck you proportions. I always said it would take an act of God to prevent me from writing. Unfortunately it was not God, but man that did it. I was blindsided by a driver who was texting and not paying attention and woke in the hospital a week or so later. I had some brain damage and my spine was injured. And my vehicle? Burst into flames turning my previous laptop and flash drive into slag, destroying everything I created for all chapters.

On a more positive note, and trust me folks this is positive. The other driver got what he deserved, an operation and a lot of physical therapy later I'm at least walking without the support of a wheelchair and thinking better. Granted this was months later, but I am now back to work at my job, and writing out my stories...only slower, because I have had to reread _everything_ manga, and fanfiction related to get to this point, not to mention the anime.

Now that I got all that off my chest an you all updated, let's get on with the chapter! The long freaking awaited chapter!

* * *

><p><em>I cannot tell you what happened after I saw the "Red" as I called it when I was younger, but from eyewitness accounts I attacked the World Noble who was known as Saint Mjosgard, and I bit his gun in half and severed his thumb and index finger in the process. Ha! Can you believe that? People have died for less and I got away with it...well mostly, apparently Jinbe blackmailed him and the incident was dropped. I have no idea what he blackmailed him with, but it must have been bad for a man who could murder someone in public and get away without any repercussions to have him back down.<em>

_But that is not all, apparently I punched a hole in the hull of the ship he crashed on, and made three full grown Sea Kings cower before me. Let me add that I was six years old. Six! And I did something that was thought to be unimaginable at the time._

_The next thing I knew, I woke up in the Palace. At first I thought I killed the Queen and tried to escape...I failed miserably. In my haste to escape I jumped from a balcony without putting any thought into it and landed in a garden area after bouncing off something bigger than I was. Words cannot describe how embarrassed and hopeless I felt right then and there. I was sure I was done for._

_Instead I met the children of King Neptune and Queen Otohime face-to-face. Prince Fukaboshi, Prince Ryuboshi, Prince Manboshi, and Princess Shirahoshi (All in an even arrangement from eldest to youngest for your benefit reader.) Apparently, I bounced off Shirahoshi's head, Fukaboshi assured me I was fine, the Queen was fine, but I got into a fight with Ryuboshi and Manboshi because I made their little sister cry._

_Unfortunately, that paled for what was to come next._

* * *

><p>"That is enough for today!" Namur bellowed out once the match ended. Both Kotetsu, and to a lesser extent, Vista were wounded, and the sun was going down. He was not going to let anyone fight in the dark, especially after that fight. "We continue tomorrow at first light. Rest and recover people!"<p>

Thankfully the fishman thought to bring a few doctors into the deserted island before the fight started. Two were already at Kotetsu's side, closing his gaping torso wounds with gauze to stem the blood flow so they would patch him up on his ship, and another one was fretting over Vista.

The shark fishman finally took a good look at his fellow Commander. That last attack did cut him; several times in fact. He saw two upon his right arm, one along his left hand, once on his right calf, at least two on his chest, and once for his right cheek.

"You gonna be all right?" Namur asked the large swordsman.

"I'm fine." Vista smiled, waving the doctor away from him. "They are pretty deep, but they won't cause any scarring."

"But you cannot say the same for him." Naruto butted in, his eyebrows furrowed. He watched as Kotetsu, _still_ gripping his swords in both hands get lifted onto a stretcher and carried away towards Namur's ship. He was in good hands, the blond knew, if his potential doctor was any indication, then the other three would do just fine.

"I'm sorry Naruto. He will make a full recovery, but he will be scarred for life." Vista apologized, bowing down as much as his giant frame could. "I hope it is of no inconvenience."

Naruto looked at the both of them, glaring for a full minute before relaxing himself after everyone else left. "Well, I will be down a swordsman for a little bit, but this loss will bring out the better in him instead of...that _thing_." Man he really did not like talking about Magara.

"I will agree, I did not like all that blood lust flying through the air." Namur said, breathing out lightly. "I don't know much about the Iron Island Massacre. But he was in the thick of it."

"It was a Marine coverup. They attacked first because they were a neutral island, and could not be having that. He saw some bad things there, and even more before it took place. No wonder he snapped like a twig." Naruto said, briefly filling in some of the blanks.

"When he wakes. I will ask him the full story, hopefully I can help out in someway." Vista shrugged his broad shoulders. He really didn't know if he could help or not, but he owed the kid that much at least.

"We'll get back to that at a later date. But right now I got a crew that needs a pep talk, but how about we talk later? I got to know what's been going on with the guys after two years."

Naruto missed the look the two Commanders gave each other. "Yea, how about nine o' clock my ship?" Vista offered.

"All right see you there." Naruto bade them a temporary goodbye before leaving for his ship.

* * *

><p>Back on the <em>Nautilus<em> spirits were awfully low. Granted, they were already low with Gin knocking at deaths door, but with Kotetsu getting thrashed around like a broken doll was quite a blow below the belt.

Upon seeing his hitchhikers lolling around the main mast the Captain of the ship decided to make his pep talk count. "All right guys." Naruto said walking upon the deck of his ship. "I know how you're feeling. Kotetsu losing was...quite the blow."

"An understatement!" Igaram bellowed with a stamp of his foot. "Uzumaki I once again protest to this foolish wager."

"I'm the fucking Captain here Igaram!" The fishman snapped, hot spittle flying from his lips. "I got us into this mess and I will get us out if the situation calls for it." Walking over to the main mast, he angrily tapped the thick wood, leaving a small indentation on it.

"What are we to do then?" Carmen asked.

"If you're as angry as I am, then you hold it in." Naruto clenched his fists together until his knuckles popped. "You hold it in until the time is right. And then you unleash it, unleash _everything_ until your enemy cannot move."

"Aye aye, Cap'n" Bashura nodded.

"You're all dismissed, sleep well, get a hearty meal, and be on that island by sunrise." Without another word, Naruto turned on his heel and retired to his cabin.

* * *

><p>After retiring to his door-less room, Naruto took off his sandals at the foot of his bed, and flopped on top of it. The metal frame groaned in protest at his heavier weight, but stopped after several seconds. Again, the blond reminded himself how creepy it was to sleep in a dead man's bed. The thing was too small and caused his feet to stick out over the edge, it smelled of old dust and was pretty uncomfortable. But a bed was a bed, at least until he could replace it with something better.<p>

Placing his hands under his head, he looked up at the cracked ceiling, the desk that held his journal, the close closet that held his clothing that more than one day would be destroyed in one fight or another. And finally the wall that secured Arlong's Zanbato; Kiribachi, with thick rope, Kuro's Cat Claws and Don Krieg's Diamond embedded gauntlets placed on a shelf with a cover in front of it to prevent them from falling to the floor.

_'I should give those gauntlets to Gin.'_ He thought to himself. While he was the Captain of the ship, he knew he was able to claim whatever trophies off his opponents, but Krieg was not felled by his hand, it was by his First Mate's and he deserved them more. _'I guess I should give Kiribachi to Madame Shyarly if I ever get there..."_ He stopped himself right there.

"Fuck! I killed Arlong. What is she going to say about that!?" Now that he finally got himself some alone time, Naruto realized that he had killed people. A lot of people, Arlong and his entire crew, a shit ton of Marines, Kuro, and maybe that Mr. 5 asshole. And to add to it he was a wanted man. "Oh man, oh man this is so not good." How the hell was he going to face Jinbe, Hody, or even Shirahoshi now?

"Um, Cap'n?" Naruto looked up and saw Bashura looking at him with a curious gaze. For a fearsome-looking savage, he didn't really portray it too well. He was far too nice to be one. "May I have a word with you?"

"Uh, yea. Sure. Come on in." It was kind of silly saying that because of the lack of door, but the giant man crouched until he could walk into the room. Man, it must suck being that big. How Jinbe and Neptune, not to mention other tall fishmen and merfolk dealt with it was beyond his understanding. "What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"About our chances for tomorrow." The Navigator said bluntly. "Kotetsu was strong in his own right, but he was nothing more than an ant against his opponent. Do you actually think we can pull this off?"

A long, tired sigh escaped from the fishman's sharp teeth. "Honestly?" Bashura nodded. "Honestly, I am having my doubts. I know we fought Kuro, and Don Krieg, not to mention members of the Baroque Works. Those were easy compared to what we face now."

"That bad?" Bashura tilted his head sideways in question.

"Lets say this. Back on Fishman Island, I was the freaking piranha in a tank of fish." This was more or less the truth, he has not lost a fight since Ace beat him two years ago. "But now that I am out of the tank, I find myself the soon to be meal for some Sea King." He knew he was understating it, he could punch out Sea Kings no problem, it was people that were the issue. Sometimes he wondered if he could even win most of his fights now.

"You really believe we have no chance of winning?"

"I didn't say that. It's slim, but if we can win, or at least tie the next match, then I will be the last to fight," He clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "I will give it my all, you may think I'm awesome now. But you have not seen me when everything is on the line." His fight with Skorka, and Arlong proved just that.

"Then who do you think should fight next?" Blinking his wide yellow eyes, the Catman was curious to see what his Captain could do in a pinch.

"Well lets see, with Gin and Kotetsu out. All we got is you and me."

"What about Miss Goldenweek, Igaram, or Carmen?"

"I cannot ask Igaram to fight. He's only hitching a ride with us, Goldenweek is still having the shakes from her sugar withdrawal, and Carmen..." Naruto paused, considering how to say this lightly. "Carmen may be acrobatic, proficient with her fans, and one hell of a chef. But I just cannot see her fighting and winning against someone."

On the outside of his room, within earshot, the flamboyant chef's well manicured fingernails were dug into her palms and her teeth biting into her lower lip. "He thinks I cannot fight does he?" She murmured under her breath.

Turning on one heel Carmen softly walked away. Both Naruto and Bashura were never aware that they were eavesdropped.

After Bashura left several minutes later. Naruto continued where he left off before talking to their resident cat man. He looked right at the wall that held the trophies of his achievements from his near two months at sea once again, and settled his eyes upon his wanted poster.

**Wanted Dead or Alive**

"**Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto**

**$45,000,000 Beli**

The picture showed a clear view of his face. From the whisker-like markings upon his cheeks, three barely visible gills on his neck, the infamous vicious shark-like grin that showed his sharp teeth. It even showed his spiky blond hair and blue eyes that looked like they were flashing.

"How the hell did they get that picture?" Naruto wondered to himself. As far as he could remember he had no photos of him taken when he was growing up in the Royal Palace, maybe one or two occurred when he was sixteen, but what he was looking at was quite recent.

"Crap, if my face is all over the damn thing then that means every freaking Marine Base will be looking out for me." The blond placed his right hand upon his chin in thought. The wheels were turning, slowly, until a single thought came to his mind. "Oh shit, how long will it be until Jinbe learns of this." If he didn't know already. Man he was not even remotely looking forward to that conversation.

"Um, Uzumaki?" Another voice interrupted his thought process. Turning his head he looked to see Igaram staring at him. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." Naruto admitted. Now that he had some time to think, he realized that he didn't like it one bit, thinking was overrated, especially about half the crap that was nailed to his wall. "Can I help you Igaram?"

"I am hoping so." Igaram said, moving his hand to close the door, only to realize there was no door to be closed thanks to Mr. 3. "You're okay with having no door?"

"Eh, if anything I can get topside faster." Naruto had to look at the positive side of things at times. Even if they sucked. "But I doubt me having no door is the reason you're down here."

"Ahem, yes." The man said, clearing his throat in embarrassment. "To be blunt Naruto, I am worried about this situation with the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Listen, I am not just abandoning my First Mate. Period." The blonds eyes narrowed threateningly. "And if this is about your place, do not worry. If we are to lose, I will make sure you aren't drafted in. you will still go home with the Princess and we will be on our way."

"I am grateful for that." Igaram really was. Being away from his home, and his wife for two years were like heavy weights on his shoulders. "But I am not here to discuss my role. I only want to ask a question if you please."

Crossing his thick arms across his chest, tilting his head sideways, and with one eyebrow raised. Naruto looked at his temporary crew member funny. "What is this question?"

"Forgive me for being blunt. But why are you working so hard to do this?" The Captain of the Royal Guard asked.

"What is 'This', exactly?" Naruto used his fingers as quotation marks.

"Fighting hard to keep Gin in the crew, and securing a doctor at the same time. Forgive me for saying this, but you do not seem the type."

"The type. Igaram quit beating around the bush and tell me what the hell you're thinking."

"The type to help humans." There he said it, plain and simple. Igaram continued on, being as blunt as a baseball bat to a mans kneecaps. "When I first saw you on Whiskey Peak, you looked very irritated being surrounded by humans, and you stayed that way until you risked your life to save me from that rigged ship. But every so often you switch in-between hating us to tolerating us, and now you are literally fighting for one. And I want to know what drives you to do so, despite the fact you do not think too highly of humans."

For a while it took Naruto's brain to sort out what Igaram said to him, and a few more minutes to think of an answer. Why was he fighting exactly? Sure, Gin was very useful, and a doctor of the Whitebeard Pirates would change matters entirely. But it was just as Igaram said, he didn't like them all that much...or did he? Were these rag-tag jackasses actually growing on him?

"I, uh, I don't freaking know." Naruto finally admitted. Screw Hody Jones throwing a bitch fit if he ever found out, this was just too complicated for him. "I do not like humans all that much, that I will fully admit. Your kind has persecuted and enslaved mine since before I was a twinkle in my dad's eye. Quite frankly, I can say that there are times where I just wish humans never existed." The part that Hody corrupted showed clearly on his face. The hate, the loathing, everything that could have been drilled into his head by the Captain of the New Fishman Pirates.

But as soon it was shown, it was replaced with his normal face, the one that always made Queen Otohime smile. "But after getting my ass kicked by Ace, and actually walking on islands in the Grand Line. I see that not all humans are a bunch of bigoted assholes. Yes there are some, but they generally don't mind my presence, and as for the people on this ship...ah, hell, despite them being a pain in my side, they did not outright try to kill me."

Well that wasn't necessarily true, Kotetsu/Magara tried it, Bashura and Gin brought the wrath of their former crews on him, Carmen would have hijacked the ship even if it was a mistake on her part and probably would have screwed him when Smoker came around again, and Igaram himself had a hand in trying it himself. But they had not tried it since then, and he did get good use out of them, so they were even...more or less at least.

"So essentially," He continued on, breaking out of his thoughts. "I am considering myself, neutral. I don't necessarily hate humans, but I don't like them either. Satisfied?"

Igaram didn't say anything at first. He just looked at the young fishman with a judging stare. I made Naruto uncomfortable enough to look away from his eyes for several seconds before looking back. Finally, after a minute of silence, a smile formed on the former Baroque Works members face. "It's funny, you sound just like the Princess." He said with a light chuckle in his voice.

"What?" Naruto's eyebrows disappeared into his bangs from surprise. He certainly had not been expecting that sort of answer. "How do I sound like her?"

"For the past two years Princess Vivi has gone through extreme lengths, and even risking her life to exposing Crocodile. And you are risking your..." Igaram paused for a second to try and figure out what he was risking. "You are risking your own freedom for a man you picked out of the sea not more than three weeks ago." He had talked to a majority of the crew on Drum Island and learned exactly what Naruto did to, for the better term, recruit them.

The blond looked away, to hide the expression creeping into his face. "Don't get the wrong idea. With the hell we're going into we need to be at full strength."

"Whatever you say, Captain. Please try to sleep well." With a nod of gratitude, Igaram left Naruto to his own devices. But before he left, he left his head exposed through the wide space where his door used to be. "After this is all done, please try making time to talk to the Princess. I know she would love to talk more with the man who saved her." And then he was gone before Naruto could retort.

"What? Oh, God damn it Igaram." Naruto sighed in exasperation. Now he was more at a loss than he thought previous. "Well now what? Do I just stay in here or should I try and talk to Namur and the others?" He took one look at the wall that held his Wanted Poster, and the trophies of his short achievements since he had set out to sea.

Leaving to go catch up with Namur and Vista was the easiest choice he made that night.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile on Vista's ship within the recovery room, Kotetsu was beginning to stir from the realm of unconsciousness. He tried to sit up, and instantly fell back from the near blinding pain in his torso. "Son of a bitch!" He cursed out. He felt the familiar wetness of blood leaking from his wounds, and it staining the gauze that held his stitches together.<p>

"Ah, you're awake." Kotetsu turned his head to see Vista, the man who defeated him leaning against the door frame, and smiling. "I feared that I cut too deep."

"Only enough to beat me. Ugh, that hurts." Looking to his side, he nearly had a panic attack when he saw that he was missing both his swords.

"Calm yourself lad." Vista calmly made his way over to him, and set his large right hand on Kotetsu's shoulder. "Nidai Kitetsu and your cutlass had to be pried from your grasp by my strongest men." Noticing the sandy-haired teen's dejected look, he continued. "This was after we used some heavy duty muscle relaxers. The doctors could not work on you otherwise."

"So that's why I can't feel my arms." Kotetsu deadpanned.

"It will wear off in the morning, hopefully you can watch the next two fights."

"I rather not show my face anytime soon." The younger swordsman grimaced. "Even if it was out of desperation, I still let that monster out. Normally I would never say this, but Vista, thank you for beating me."

"I would not go to call it an easy battle, you actually managed to cut me up, and that has not happened in years." Vista admitted. "But I am ashamed to say that it was your other side that did it, and not the real you."

"He is stronger than I am."

"Wrong!" Vista's voice boomed, it almost made Kotetsu jumped if he had the power to do so. "When we exchanged blows, he may have had more strength than you, but it wasn't his full strength either. You fluctuate, some blows are weak, others are strong, or in-between. It's not a good mix for a swordsman."

"I, uh...huh." The first tag along for Naruto's crew found himself speechless. He did not deny anything the man said, it was just strange to hear it out loud. "Then how do I fix it?"

"You must overcome this _Magara_. You need to show him that you are the one in charge, that he is nothing."

"That's a little harder than you think."

"It cannot be that complicated."

"Remember the start of our fight when you declared me the 'Butcher of Iron Island'? Well it goes a lot further than that." Kotetsu explained to Vista exactly when Magara began to manifest, about his best friend getting his brains blown out by Morgan "Moonscar" McCrite, and then him killing the man in a cruel way, and then the entire truth about Iron Island. Nothing was left out of his story, not if he could get help from a fellow swordsman.

After he finished his story, Vista looked at him perplexed. Soon he brought his right hand to his strong chin and began to rub it thoughtfully. "I see...I see what needs to be done." Closing his eyes, Vista did not see the expectant look that was given to him. "Kotetsu, what you need to do is give up on you pacifist ideals. And go in for the kill."

"What?" The younger swordsman's eyes widened in alarm. That was not the answer he had been looking for.

"In this part of the world, man men and women will come at you with the desire to take your life. And the only way to survive it to either kill them first, or cripple them to the point where they will not come after you ever again." Opening his eyes, he gave the young man a look that had only been seen when his enemies fell before his swords. "You do this yourself, by yourself, and not rely on Magara. That is the only true way to be free."

"I...I don't understand."

"You will soon enough my boy. One of these days you will reach the crossroads where one step in either direction will determine your fate as a swordsman. The path of life, or the path of death." Vista removed himself from Kotetsu's side and out of the room. But before he left, he turned towards the boy once more, and smiled. "You're a smart lad, you'll figure it out." And then he left.

"Son of a...well no sleep for me tonight." Kotetsu sighed out tiredly. Left with his thoughts he soon began imagining the two paths that lied before him. Should he go down the path of life, no one would ever die before him, but his life would be swarmed with so much danger that he would die before he reached the age of twenty. But the path of death, all he could see was a mountain of bodies, and his entire existence being a curse upon the seas.

"Sometimes I wish I just never joined the Marines. God damn it." Kotetsu closed his eyes to try and calm himself, but soon went off to dreamland. It was better this way.

* * *

><p>In a different part of the ship Vista entered a room and was greeted by Namur chuckling from something their visitor had said. "What did I miss?"<p>

"Uzumaki just finished a story about how he dyed Suikazan Fuguki's hair hot pink, and put itching powder in all of his karate gi's." Namur said with a crackle in his voice.

"I've done far worse to him, and he deserved every bit of it, and more once I get back." A cruel, malicious smile came to his face and he began to chuckle. Oh Fuguki was gonna get it when he got back.

"I hear that. Now, what do you want to do. I got a couple of beers chilling in the fridge."

"I could drink." Naruto easily caught the a beer that was flung his way, propped his thumb under the cap, and popped it off. "So, what have the Whitebeard Pirates been up to?"

"Oh you know, conquering or liberating islands, fighting Pirates and Marines. You know the usual." Vista replied before taking a drink of his beer. "But I'm afraid those are the only good things to happen to us."

"The hell are you talking about?" Naruto questioned.

"We've had some tragedies in our lives. Thatch was lost to us a year ago." Namur said.

Naruto nearly choked on his drink. He sputtered a few times, coughing to get the burning alcohol out of his lungs. "The guy with the pompadour? Wasn't he the Commander of the Fourth Division?"

"The very same. We have yet to find a replacement for him, I don't think we ever can find one." Vista sighed sadly. "The good always die far too soon."

"Shit," Naruto spent several minutes in silence to pay his respects to Thatch. He personally didn't know the guy, but he made him, a stranger, feel very welcome on the _Moby Dick_ all those years ago. "It must to have been a powerful bastard to take him down then."

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but that is not the case. Thatch was murdered, stabbed in the back by a member of our own crew." Namur informed him.

"The fuck you say!" This time Naruto dropped his drink, ignoring the sound of it shattering upon the floorboards. He didn't feel the amber liquid splash onto his feet of pant leg, all he felt was anger at someone being murdered by one they called a crew mate. "Why did he do it?"

"Thatch acquired a devil fruit called the Dark-Dark Fruit during a raid. He chose to not eat it, because he liked to rely on his own abilities and was planning on selling it. He stabbed him right in the back and fled like a coward after sailing with us for over twenty years." Vista answered him.

Namur continued for the swordsman. "As you probably know, Ace and Thatch were pretty close friends. He went off after Thatch's killer soon after."

"So is that why you're out here in the Grand Line, to search for Ace?" Naruto questioned.

"Correct, but we've had no luck in finding him. In fact, you're lucky to have run into us what you did. We were about to said back to Whitebeard for an important meeting." Namur said, tipping back his head to finish his drink, and then threw to bottle to the floor.

"Well if I find Ace in my travels, you want me to tell him to get his ass back to Whitebeard?"

"That would be nice, and if you run into a man called Marshall D. Teach, or as he called himself Blackbeard by now. Do us a favor and tear his head off." Vista finished his own beer, setting it down with such force that it shattered.

"I believe I can do that." Naruto nodded before looking at the floor covered in broken glass. "Uh, so who's gonna clean this up?"

"I'll have Wade clean it up." Vista said with a smile.

* * *

><p>The next day the three separate divisions of the Whitebeard Pirates met up on the very same deserted island where they won their first victory. But unlike the first day where they were all puffed up and confident that they would win, the three crews gave Naruto and his people a wide berth when they arrived a little after nine am.<p>

After the highly destructive fight that leveled a great portion of the forest, done by the swordsman of Naruto's crew mind you with a single attack that actually cut Vista. They learned that this was not a crew full of greenhorns, but a crew of potentials. Potential to do what though, that remained to be seen.

"All right, who's next?" Naruto asked once they were in place. His face was was plastered with his infamous shark-like grin, showing off his sharp teeth. Of course it was false bravado, he was nervous, if they lost they belonged with the Whitebeard Pirates.

"That would be me." Vista's and Namur's men parted ways to make room for the a single figure and entourage. The person was a very feminine-looking man wearing a pink and purple kimono. He had a pale complexion and hair tied in a way resembling that of a geisha. On his waist he carried a pair of flintlock pistols, a katana, and another another Japanese-looking, light-red spotted instrument tied around his waist. He was followed by twenty men, each dressed in in the same attire.

The leader of the group departed from his men and entered the middle of what would become the battlefield. He stared at Naruto, smiled, and deeply bowed to him. "Greetings, my name is Izo. I am the Commander of the Sixteenth Division, please treat me well."

"Um, I'll try to." Naruto said, being as respectful as he could. The guy was pretty weird. "So, who will you be fighting?"

"He will be fighting me." Carmen announced, boldly stepping forward.

"What the?" Naruto turned towards the Chef of the ship in surprise. There she was clad in her pink flamingo dress when they first met, her fans opened all the way to reveal the rose design within them. "Carmen are you sure?"

"Positive. I'm more than just a Chef. I can fight." She said, narrowing her eyes at her opponent. "Trust me."

"All right, kick some ass Carmen."

Nothing more needed to be said. Both Carmen and Izo stood opposite of each other, like before there would be no referee, and they would fight until one of them gave up, could not continue, or in the worst case, killed.

The wind blew stirring the sand under their feet. And they struck! Both combatants sprinted from their positions and began attacking each other. Izo's katana flashed from its scabbard fast as the eye could see, he aimed it for Carmen's shoulder, but was intercepted by the pink-haired Chef's fan. The blade itself came to a halt when it hit the sharp blade his the fabric of her fan. Carmen soon retaliated, closing her fan and thrusting it towards Izo's belly to impale him.

The geisha broke from the engagement, back flipping away, but Carmen was right on his heels. Snapping her fans open, she slashed at her opponent, missing him by just centimeters. Izo flipped once and dug his feet into the sand, flipping it at the Chef.

"Ah!" The sand hit its mark, striking Carmen in the face, blinding her. She stopped in her tracks, desperately blinking to get the grain out of her eyes. Finally tears did their work, allowing her to half-see Izo pointing a pistol at her.

Izo pulled the trigger, a loud bang echoed throughout the deserted island as the bullet left the chamber. Carmen ducked under the bullet and a man from the audience yelled, not from being hit, but from alarm. "Oh that is it." The pink-haired woman growled to herself. Springing forwards on her hands, Carmen began doing front flips towards Izo at a rapid pace. She kicked up as much sand as she could to distract her opponent.

Two feet away, Carmen landed on her feet, and used all the strength she could to jump as high as her body would allow. Tucking herself into a tight ball she began spinning forwards, soon picking up high velocity before extending her slim right leg out. "Desolladura de Liebre! (Flaying Hare)" She screamed.

Izo brought the back end of his sword out to block the attack. He had no urge to maim someone if he could help it, she would probably break a bone hitting his sword, but not lose a limb at least. Her high heel hit the blade with a loud...clang? He then looked on in horror as the tip of her heel sliced through the steel, and cut it square in half!

Carmen landed square on her feet and lashed out with her closed fan, striking the Commander of the Sixteenth Division square across his painted face and sent him spinning right into the sand. The pink-haired Chef gave herself a self-satisfying smirk and turned towards Naruto. "Think I still don't have a shot at fighting and winning?"

* * *

><p>"Looks like you are busted, Cap'n." Bashura said, scratching the back of his head in a nervous gesture.<p>

"Shit, how did you not hear her?" Naruto demanded.

"I'm a Catman. Not some supersonic Batman." The savage-looking Navigator protested.

"Either way, you're screwed Uzumaki." Kotetsu said with heavy gnashing of his teeth. The cuts Vista inflicted upon him yesterday hurt more than he ever imagined. They would leave scars that would mar his flesh for the rest of his life, and he would have to deal with it. It would be a good reminder at least.

"And what will you have me do? Huh asshole?" The blond snapped back at the swordsman.

"Wear your freaking coat or something. Or just say sorry. That always works." Kotetsu blew a strand of his sandy-blond hair away from his face. And wondered for the millionth time why he chose to follow such an idiot? Oh right, he had no choice in the matter.

"Either way, I think she has proved you wrong on this. She can fight." Bashura said.

"Yea, that I will agree." Naruto replied. "Lets just see if she can win."

* * *

><p>"What in the world...was that!?" Izo hotly demanded. Slowly he stood up on his own two feet and placed his right hand on his cheek. The entire area was swelling up, and turning black from the strike. Looking at his broken sword clutched in his left hand, he tossed it away. No need for a useless weapon.<p>

"Diamonds are a girls best friends." Carmen said, easily raising her right leg to the side. She showed off a toned, curvy leg that was properly taken care of. But it was the heel of her high heel that Izo was looking at. Imbedded at the end of it was a small diamond that gleamed in the sunlight, and by the looks of it, it was very sharp. "I never leave home without them."

"Clever girl." Izo smiled. He discarded his spent pistol and took the other one in his free hand. "I will not underestimate you again." Izo sprinted forward and attacked Carmen again.

Carmen dropped bot her fans and caught his punch to her head, and caught his wrist that held a firearm with the other. She raised it above their heads, snaked her middle finger to the trigger, and pulled it. The gun went off above their heads, the bullet flying harmlessly into the sky.

"You think I need a bullet to beat you!?" The Whitebeard Commander demanded. He lashed out with his left leg, burying his knee in her stomach. Carmen choked on her spit, then he hit her in the same area again, and again. Izo then kicked her feet from under her, and used gravity to elbow her right in the chest when they both came to a hard landing.

Carmen attempted to roll away to catch her breath. She desperately lashed out with her right hand for her Palmada de Jamón (Ham Slap) technique. But instead her hand was pinned under Izo's wooden sandal. Growling that her precious cooking hand was being crushed, she punched him right in his kneecap.

A loud pop echoed throughout the area. Izo yelled in pain when he felt his knee pop out of place and fell to the ground on top of her. It was then, to Naruto that the most ridiculous thing he ever saw. It was a cat fight, they were stopped using attacks and were more or less scratching at each other. Carmen's dress ripped right at her hip, the front of Izo's kimono was torn by her nails, Carmen's face was struck by the butt of the pistol before she dug her nails into his wrist to make him let go of the gun.

The two of them rolled around in the sand for the next several minutes, making spectacles of themselves. Sand was flung everywhere, hitting onlookers, and reaching into places on both combatants that would not be dealt with until they took a bath. The sound of cloth ripping and yelling pounded the ears of men and women alike in the group, and neither fighter seemed to have been gaining the edge.

It wasn't until Carmen managed to pin him underneath her did she use the dirtiest move in a fight. Her lower dress in tatters, she raised her left knee as far back as possible. "Galleta de Tuerca (Nut Cracker)!" She screamed, using the advice Naruto gave to them all last night, using all her bottled anger and unleashing it!

Izo screamed with the intensity of the Fat Lady opera singer when Carmen drove her knee into his fruits. All the men and fishmen alike winced and covered their groins. And they each winced as the chef kneed the Commander of the Sixteenth Division in his groin over, and over, and over again until the man ran out of breath.

Carmen removed herself from Izo, panting and looking like she lost a fight against a wood chipper. Her neatly styled hair resembled a rats nest with sand in it, the left half of her red flamingo dress was completely torn away, her flat stomach was exposed through a giant tear in the front. Her left cheek was swollen like an apple and half of it was turning black and blue. Even her nose was bleeding from being hit.

Izo however was in no condition to fight. The man was curled up in the fetal position, his torn kimono hiding the fact that he was grabbing his groin out of a desperate attempt to find some sort of relief in the pain upon his entire being.

"Holy shit, she won. She actually won. Hooray!" Kotetsu was the first to cheer for the victor of the fight.

"Very...unladylike." Igaram blinked owlishly.

"She still won at least. Good going Carmen." Bashura happily grinned at the woman.

"Thanks big guy." The pink-haired victor said, favoring her right leg over her left, no one could blame her for limping, she kneed Izo nine or ten times in a row with all her might. She looked over to Naruto with only her right eye showing thanks to her left eye being swollen shut for the time being. "Well?"

Not even closing his eyes, or giving out an irritated sigh, Naruto looked straight at Carmen. He was in the wrong, he knew it, the crew knew it, there was no denying it at all. Now he had to make it right. She cooked his food after all, and she could do a lot worse than spit in it.

"I'm sorry Carmen." He apologized. "I was wrong, you can kick some major ass. Forgive me?"

"It's a start." She lightly huffed, passing by him to sit down in the sand. God she ached all over.

"Naruto." Namur made his way over the the small crew. "I think we should take a small break. Izo...well." He gestured towards the whimpering man being carried away on a stretcher in the fetal position.

"I understand. An hour?" The blonde asked.

"Soon enough. Then it will be our turn to fight." Namur looked at his fellow Fishman, and nodded at him. "I hope you've gotten stronger since that last I saw you."

"I've gotten much stronger." Naruto gave Namur his by now infamous shark-like grin, and pumping his fist. "You better go all out Namur, or I will crush you."

"I fully plan on it Uzumaki."

* * *

><p><span>Naruto's Ship<span>

"That was something Carmen." Naruto congratulated the Chef of his ship. All of them were siting in what was supposed to be their medical bay, Carmen changed into a blue flamingo-styled dress. Unlike Kotetsu she only had some bumps and bruises, the biggest being the left side of her face swelling up like a balloon. Bashura handed her a thick slab of dinosaur steak to put over it.

"I did what I had to do." Carmen replied, sighing softly when she pressed the cool mean against her face. "It was dirty though."

"You went against a Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and won. That is something no one can really boast about." Igaram said, crossing his arms across his chest. "You know when I was a lad, he visited my country to resupply. The sheer presence of that man was terrifying."

"How many people did he have with him back then?" The small crew turned to see, to their surprise, Kotetsu hobbling in.

"Kotetsu what the hell are you doing out of bed?" Naruto demanded.

"Better yet, on this ship. Wasn't that doctor-lady treating you?" Bashura raised a tattooed eyebrow.

"I think the guy with ten pounds of ice on his balls needed her more." The swordsman of the crew replied. Slowly he made his way to the nearest bed and settled on it, wincing from the stitches in his torso. "Heard a pink-haired lady did it, and there is only one pink-haired person that comes to my mind."

"Guilty as charged." Said pink-haired woman chimed in.

"All right guys, can't let our guard down just yet. We got one more fight and this one is gonna be a dozy." Naruto interrupted them before anything could get fully underway. "Namur and I are going to fight next. I want you all to stay on the ship."

"What? Uzumaki that's crazy, we can stay on land and watch the fight." Kotetsu protested.

"Have you seen me fight?"

"Both of us have." Bashura piped up.

"Have you seen two fishmen fight?" Naruto deadpanned.

He was met with silence.

"That's what I thought, when my kind fight it is destructive. When I fought against Ace, I sink half a deserted island while he burned the rest. I don't ask much of you all, but for the love of God, please stay on the _ship_." Naruto said, empathizing on the last part.

"All right, all right. We'll stay on the dang ship." Kotetsu groaned irritably.

"Has anyone seen Miss Goldenweek?" Bashura asked.

* * *

><p><span>Namur's Ship<span>

"I don't understand, how did Izo lose?" Shizune asked after she dumped what felt like the hundredth bucket of ice onto a mercifully unconscious Izo. The geisha was stripped out of his kimono, face paint washed away, knee in a brace, and his decency covered by a small mountain of ice to reduce the swelling from the damage Carmen wrought upon him.

"No one is unbeatable, not me, not Izo, not even Whitebeard himself." Namur replied. He looked over to his fellow Commander, wincing in sympathy. Getting hit in the nuts once was bad enough, but being hit until he was literally out of breath, was over the top and the most cringe worthy things he had ever seen in his entire life.

"Still, I'm just surprised is all."

"A woman's legs are more powerful than a man's." Namur recited from memory. "Men may have the upper body strength, but no matter how much we train a woman's legs will always outmatch ours. So roughly ten kicks to the groin will do that to a man." The shark fishman however turned to her, an eyebrow raised. "But you rely on something other than your legs to fight. What was it again, poisons?"

"I learned everything from my master. The very same one who is tending to your Captain." Shizune replied. "That should tell you everything you need to know."

Namur nodded from her point. Tsunade had been quite beneficial to Whitebeard's crew, keeping the old man healthy and rested. She was a healer first and a fighter second, and when she ever went into combat, by the love of God run away.

"I'm fighting next for all the marbles. I need you to tell everyone to stay on board." He finally spoke after a few minutes.

"Is that really necessary?" Shizune asked.

"Years ago I saw that boy stand toe-to-toe with "Fire Fist" Portgas D. Ace himself. He lost in the end but he has grown much stronger now." Namur cracked his knuckles, grinning in excitement. "I'm going to go all out against him."

"Just be careful all right. You still have your own promise to keep."

"I don't plan on losing."

* * *

><p><span>On the deserted island<span>

The hour came and went, and the last fighters stepped foot onto the sandy shores. Unlike in the last two fights, no one was out there to greet them, even the four ships that were docked were roughly two miles away our of the intended blast zone.

Naruto stood opposite of Namur, his thick forearms crossed over his chest. His opponent was in the same position, both frowning at each other.

"Tell me something, did you ever figure we would ever com to blows?" Naruto asked his fellow fishman.

"Not this soon." Namur confessed. "But with you becoming a pirate I expected this would become inevitable."

Naruto wanted to protest that he was not a pirate, but held his tongue at bay. As far as the World Government was concerned, he was a pirate. Well so be it, but he was not going to openly admit it.

"Guess there is nothing more to talk about." Naruto clasped his hands together, and bowed towards his opponent. "Let us begin."

"Yes." Namur clasped his hands together, bowing towards Naruto. "May the best man win."

* * *

><p>Edit 5-13-15: Thanks to kirashu and deathshade37 I learned that Blackbeard was in their crew longer than how I had written it out to be only a few years or so. It has been rewritten and edited, so thank you guys I appreciate it, even if I was late in correcting it, like so late you guys. Plus a few other things were touched up as well.<p>

Also like Sanji using fancy French words for his attacks, I'm having Carmen using Spanish words because she reminds me of a Salsa Dancer. The translations will be...well sloppy, but easily rectified at later dates should anyone point them at me.


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